
0 * 







4 ^ ^ 


, , A> ^ • A'^ ^ 

r -^^P* ' 

^<f. '-^P. ^ 

*' ®o i* yJ:^-\ c°^o"‘ 

»vv»- .V ’• »v .■»• ' 

v 

V •’••* < 5 .. 

r •'i ^*. 'Jif. ^ 



^oV 


;t.** ^0 




A° <^ •■ 

* 1 ^% > 






♦ ^ • 


^ •* -v^ “•, 




0 <^ ^ 

• 4.K o 'y ' %- 

^ V 'V . 0 ^ .ii;:. 



* A "• 





'. ’t. c®^ .‘i^. ®o q-»’‘*“ c®^ •* 

V 


'•^0 

*v: A O^ . 

5> i ^ 

lAr cs 







.• A •. 


&■: *S 1 * :'^': ’i';' :^- '?<* -4 


0 0 0 




o cs 











A 

* .‘iiiL'* > 


j''i' • 

^^••/ vW-/^ V«^- .0-' -*-. 



V . » 


• »!« 

' >v : ^ 

'.** 'i 



•k*^ <P^ ^®o '^•P 


• *" 




V • ’ • •-► C' 


■»•' » 


® N#*- cV 1 

: <p • 




*• ,0* '"o ♦-T.** 

.<' ,'^Sk^. ^ .<1^ *'nn^ 


.* *A 


'» • * ' *0 


.0^ ••JJ**. 



J 


• ^o .0^ 

\v 

V . <:» .0^ •’ 


• • A -o..® ,6^ ^ -- 






* V*^V 



A® * 

l'v ♦ 




•’«#»* ,0 ^5 *4 

*Ljr^* ^ (r ^ 


tk- 




CHOICE WORKS OF COOPER. 


EEVISED AND CORRECTED SERIES. 

AVITH 

NEW INTRODUCTIONS, NOTES, ETC. 


VOL. XV. 


HOME AS FOUND. 



HOME AS FOUMD. 


SEQUEL TO 


“HOMEWARD BOUND.” 

BY 

J. FENIMORE COOPER. 


“Thou art perfect.” — P r. Hbn 


COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, 

WITH THE LATEST REVISION AND CORRECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR. 


« 

> ■> j 

■> . * 


KEW YORK: 

STRINGER & TOWNSEND. 

1 85 6 . 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 
STRINGER & TOWNSEND, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New York. 



U. C. Valentine, Stereotyper. 


.T. F. Tkow, Printer. 


PEEFACE. 


Those who have done ns the favor to read 
“ Homeward Bound ” will at once perceive that the 
incidents of this book commence at the point where 
those of the work just mentioned ceased. We are 
fully aware of the disadvantage of dividing the inter- 
est of a tale in this manner ; but in the present 
instance, the separation has been produced by cir- 
cumstances over which the writer had very little 
control. As any one who may happen to take up 
this volume will very soon discover that there is 
other matter which it is necessary to know, it may 
be as well to tell all such persons, in commencement, 
therefore, that their reading will be bootless, unless 
they have leisure to turn to the pages of Homeward 
Bound for their cue. 

We remember the despair with which that admira- 
ble observer of men, Mr. Mathews the comedian, 
confessed the hopelessness of success, in his endea- 
vors to obtain a sufficiency of prominent and 
distinctive features to compose an entertainment 
founded on American character. The whole nation 
struck him as being destitute of salient points, and as 
characterized by a respectable mediocrity, that, how- 
ever useful it might be in its way, was utterly 


VI 


PREFACE. 


without poetry, humor, or interest to the observer. 
For one who dealt principally with the more conspi- 
cuous absurdities of his fellow-creatures, Mr. Mathews 
was certainly right ; we also believe him to have 
been right in the main, in the general tenor of his 
opinion ; for this country, in its ordinary aspects, 
probably presents as barren a field to the writer of 
fiction, and to the dramatist, as any other on earth ; 
we are not certain that we might not say the most 
barren. We believe that no attempt to delineate 
ordinary American life, either on the stage or in the 
j)ages of a novel, has been rewarded with success. 
Even those works in which the desire to illustrate a 
principle has been the aim, when the picture has 
been brought within this homely frame, have had to 
contend with disadvantages that have been common- 
ly found insurmountable. Tlie latter being the inten- 
tion of this book, the task has been undertaken with 
a perfect consciousness of all its difficulties, and with 
scarcely a hope of success. It would be indeed a 
desperate undertaking, to think of making anything 
interesting in the way of a Roman de Societe in this 
country ; still useful glances may possibly be made 
even in that direction, and we trust that the fidelity 
of one or two of our portraits will be recognised by 
the looker-on, although they will very likely be 
denied by the sitters themselves. 

There seems to be a pervading principle in things, 
which gives an accumulating energy to any active 
property that may happen to be in the ascendant, at 
the time being — ^Money produces money ; knowledge 
is the parent of knowledge ; and ignorance fortifies 
ignorance. In a word, like begets like. The govern- 


PREFACE. 


vii 

ing social evil of America is provincialism ; a misfor- 
tune that is perhaps inseparable from her situation. 
Without a social capital, with twenty or more com- 
munities divided by distance and political barriers, 
her people, who are really more homogeneous than 
any other of the same numbers in the world perhaps, 
jDOssess no standard for opinion, manners, social max- 
ims, or even language. Every man, as a matter of 
course, refers to his own particular experience, and 
praises or condemns agi’eeably to notions contracted 
in the circle of his own habits, however narrow, pro- 
vincial, or erroneous they may happen to be. As a 
consequence, no useful stage can exist; for the 
dramatist who should endeavor to delineate the 
faults of society, would find a formidable party arrayed 
against him, in a moment, with no party to defend. 
As another consequence, we see individuals constantly 
assailed with a wolf-like ferocity, while society is 
everywhere permitted to pass unscathed. 

Tliat the American nation is a great nation, in some 
particulars the greatest the world ever saw, we hold 
to be true, and are as ready to maintain as any one 
can be ; but we are also equally ready to concede, 
that it is very far behind most polished nations in 
various essentials, and chiefly, that it is lamentably 
in arrears to its own avowed principles. Perhaps 
this truth will be found to be the predominant thought, 
throughout the pages of “Home As Found.” 




k 




: i f r 'g 

' . 'ii" 

<V'v? 

' ' " ' ' '■ ' Vi'' '• 


i =.1' -.i‘ 

V:f »Vr:;> r-i v': 

■ T.':;flTlV*t r*.7;> 


r-V: \:.[ ■■ ,v;r 4if'jam 

\ V, . ■• ^ ■' ■ -•■ T-^ •' ... ri .LhJ:* ''j 

•jV'- • ■. . . •— ' ‘- i 


•\i ■'a.^;.. - 


' 'i^‘ 

■ ^. 4^r<i:.:^ .V.. 


^rxpsr.f •'■■ V- ^ vv; ? • '^- J0'"'^'- ••* 

,;M§;:f??.’ • itf 53jtf ^sfc^;•,^»^^f| .j, f ^ 7 . f j i-:<>!' ■ .f'jr "^! , • , ''-• -. 

• ■ ■ ■’ ‘V ,-fy 




HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER I. 


“ Good morrow, coz. 

Good morrow, sweet Hero.” 

Shakspeabe. 


When Mr. Effingham determined to return home he sent 
orders to his agent to prepare his town-house in New York 
for his reception, intending to pass a month or two in it, 
then to repair to Washington for a few weeks, at the close 
of its season, and to visit his country residence when the 
spring should fairly open. Accordingly, Eve now found 
herself at the head of one of the largest establishments in 
the largest American town, within an hour after she had 
landed from the ship. Fortunately for her, however, her 
father was too just to consider a wife or a daughter a mere 
upper servant, and he rightly judged that a liberal portion 
of his income should be assigned to the procuring of that 
higher quality of domestic service, which can alone relieve 
the mistress of a household from a burden so heavy to be 
borne. Unlike so many of those around him, who would 
spend on a single pretending and comfortless entertainment, 
in which the ostentatious folly of one contended with the 
ostentatious folly of another, a sum that, properly directed, 
would introduce order and system into a family for a twelve- 

1 ^ 


10 


HOME AS FOUND. 


mouth, by commanding the time and knowledge of those 
whose study they had been, and who would be willing to 
devote themselves to such objects, and then permit their 
wives and daughters to return to the drudgery to which the 
sex seems doomed in this country, he first bethought him 
of the wants of social life before he aspired to its parade. 
A man of the orld, Mr. Effingham possessed the requisite 
knowledge, and a man of justice, the requisite fairness, to 
permit those who depended on nim so much for their hap- 
piness, to share equitably in the good things that Pro- 
vidence had so liberally bestowed on himself. In other 
words, he made two people comfortable by paying a gene- 
rous price for a housekeeper ; his daughter, in the first 
place, by releasing her from cares that necessarily formed 
no more a part of her duties than it would be a part of her 
duty to sweep the pavement before the door ; and in the 
next place a very respectable woman, who was glad to obtain 
so good a home on so easy terms. To this simple and just 
expedient Eve was indebted for being at the head of one of 
the quietest, most truly elegant, and best ordered establish- 
ments in America, with no other demands on her time than 
that which was necessary to issue a few orders in the 
morning, and to examine a few accounts once a week. 

One of the first and most acceptable of the visits that 
Eve received was from her cousin, Grace Van Cortlandt, 
who was in the country at the moment of her arrival, but 
who hurried back to town to meet her old schoolfellow and 
kinswoman, the instant she heard of her having landed. 
Eve Effingham and Grace Van Cortlandt were sisters’ 
children, and had been born within a month of each other. 
As the latter was without father or mother, most of their 
time had been passed together, until the former was taken 
abroad, when a separation unavoidably ensued. Mr. Effing- 
ham ardently desired, and had actually designed to take his 
niece with him to Europe, but her paternal grandfather. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


11 


who was still living, objected his years and affection, and 
the scheme was reluctantly abandoned. This grandfather 
was now dead, and Grace had been left, with a very ample 
fortune, almost entirely the mistress of her own movements. 

The moment of the meeting between these two warm- 
hearted and sincerely attached^ young women was one of 
great interest and anxiety to both. They retained for each 
other the tenderest love, though the years that had sepa- 
rated them had given rise to so many new impressions and 
habits, that they did not prepare themselves for the inter- 
view without apprehension. This interview took place 
about a week after Eve was established in Hudson Square, 
and at an hour earlier than was usual for the reception 
of visits. Hearing a carriage stop before the door, and the 
bell ring, our heroine stole a glance from behind a curtain, 
and recognised her cousin as she alighted. 

‘‘ Qu’avez-vous, ma chere ? ” demanded Mademoiselle 
Viefville, observing that her eleve trembled and grew pale. 

“ It is my cousin. Miss Van Cortlandt — she whom I 
loved as a sister — we now meet for the first time in so many 
years !” 

“ Bien — c’est une tres jolie jeune personne !’* returned 
the governess, taking a glance from the spot Eve had just 
quitted. “ Sur le rapport de la personne, ma chere, vous 
devriez etre contente, au moins.” 

“ If you will excuse me. Mademoiselle, I will go down 
alone — I think I should prefer to meet Grace without wit- 
nesses, in the first interview.” 

“ Tres volontiers. Elle est parente, et c’est bien na- 
turel.” 

Eve on this expressed approbation met her maid at the 
door, as she came to announce that Mademoiselle de Cort- 
landt was in the library, and descended slowly to meet her. 
The library was lighted from above by means of a small 
dome, and Grace had unconsciously placed . herself in the 


12 


HOME AS FOUND. 


very position that a painter would have chosen, had she 
been about to sit for her portrait. A strong, full, rich light 
fell obliquely on her, as Eve entered, displaying her fine 
person and beautiful features to the very best advantage, 
and they were features and a person that are not seen every 
day, even in a country where female beauty is so common. 
She was in a carriage dress, and her toilette was rather 
more elaborate than Eve had been accustomed to see 
at that hour, but still Eve thought she had seldom seen 
a more lovely young creature. Some such thoughts also 
passed through the mind of Grace herself, who, though 
struck, with a woman’s readiness in such matters, with the 
severe simplicity of Eve’s attire, as well as with its entire 
elegance, was more struck with the charms of her counte- 
nance and figure. There was, in truth, a strong re- 
semblance between them, though each was distinguished by 
an expression suited to her character, and to the habits of 
her mind. 

“ Miss Effingham ! ” said Grace, advancing a step to meet 
the lady who entered, while her voice was scarcely audible 
and her limbs trembled. 

“ Miss Van Cortlandt I” said Eve, in the same low, smo- 
thered tone. 

This formality caused a chill in both, and each uncon- 
sciously stopped and curtsied. Eve had been so much 
struck with the coldness of the American manner during 
the week she had been at home, and Grace was so sensitive 
on the subject of the opinion of one who had seen so much 
of Europe, that there was great danger, at that critical mo- 
ment, the meeting would terminate unpropitiously. 

Thus far, however, all had been rigidly decorous, though 
the strong feelings that were glowing in the bosoms of 
both had been so completely suppressed. But the smile, 
cold and embarrassed as it was, that each gave as she curt- 
sied, had the sweet character of her childhood in it, and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


13 


recalled to both the girlish and affectionate intercourse of 
their younger days. 

“ Grace !” said Eve, eagerly advancing a step or two im- 
petuously, and blushing like the dawn. 

« Eve !” 

Each opened her arms, and in a moment they were 
locked in a long and fervent embrace. This was the com- 
mencement of their former intimacy, and before night Grace 
was domesticated in her uncle’s house. It is true that Miss 
Effingham perceived certain peculiarities about Miss Van 
Cortlandt that she had rather were absent; and Miss Van 
Cortlandt would have felt more at her ease had Miss Effing- 
ham a little less reserve of manner on certain subjects that 
the latter had been taught to think interdicted. Notwith- 
standing these slight separating shades in character, how- 
ever, the natural affection was warm and sincere ; and if 
Eve, according to Grace’s notions, was a little stately and 
formal, she was polished and courteous ; and if Grace, ac- 
cording to Eve’s notions, was a little too easy and unre- 
served, she was feminine and delicate. 

We pass over the three or four days that succeeded, 
during which Eve had got to understand something of her 
new position, and we will come at once to a conversation 
between the cousins, that will serve to let the reader more 
intimately into the opinions, habits, and feelings of both, as 
well as to open the real subject of our narrative. This con- 
versation took place in that very library which had wit- 
nessed their first interview, soon after breakfast, and while 
the young ladies were still alone. 

“ I suppose. Eve, you will have to visit the Greens. They 
are llajjis, and were much in society last winter.” 

“Ilajjis! You surely do not mean, Grace, that mey 
have been to Mecca ?” 

“ Not at all : only to Paris, my dear ; that makes a Hajji 
in New York.” 


14 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ And does it entitle tlie pilgrim to wear tlie green tur- 
ban ?” asked Eve, laughing. 

“ To wear anything, Miss Effingham ; green, blue, or yel- 
low, and to cause it to pass for elegance.” 

“ And which is the favorite color with the family you 
have mentioned ?” 

“ It ought to be the first, in compliment to the name, but, 
if truth must be said, I think they betray an affection for 
all, with not a few of the half-tints in addition.” 

“ I am afraid they are too prononcks for us, by this de- 
scription. I am no great admirer, Grace, of walking rain- 
bows.” 

“ Too Green, you would have said, had you dared ; but 
you are a Hajji too, and even the Greens know that a Hajji 
never puns, unless, indeed, it might be one from Philadel- 
phia. But you will visit these people ?” 

“ Certainly, if they are in society and render it necessary 
by their own civilities.” 

“ They are in society, in virtue of their rights as Hajjis ; 
but as they passed three months at Paris, you probably 
know something of them.” 

“ They may not have been there at the same time with 
ourselves,” returned Eve, quietly, “ and Paris is a very large 
town. Hundreds of people come and go that one never 
hears of. I do not remember those you have mentioned.” 

“ I wish you may escape them, for, in my untravelled 
judgment, they are anything but agreeable, notwithstanding 
all they have seen, or pretend to have seen.” 

“ It is very possible to have been all over Christendom, 
and to remain exceedingly disagreeable ; besides, one may 
see a great deal, yet see very little of a good quality.” 

A pause of two or three minutes followed, during which 
Eve read a note, and her cousin played with the leaves of a 
book. 

“ I wish I knew your real opinion of us. Eve,” the last 


HOME AS FOUND. 


15 


suddenly exclaimed. “ Why not be frank with so near a 
relative ; tell me honestly, now — are you reconciled to your 
country 

“You are the eleventh person who has asked me this 
question, which I find very extraordinary, as I have never 
quarrelled with my country.” 

“ Nay, I do not mean exactly that. I wish to hear how 
our society has struck one who has been educated abroad.” 

“You wish, then, for opinions that can have no great 
value, since my experience at home extends only to a fort- 
night. But you have many books on the country, and 
some written by very clever persons ; why not consult 
them ?” 

“ Oh ! you mean the travellers. None of them are worth 
a second thought, and we hold them, one and all, in great 
contempt.” 

“Of that I can have no manner of doubt, as one and an 
you are constantly protesting it, in the highways and by- 
ways. There is no more certain sign of contempt than to 
be incessantly dwelling on its intensity !” 

Grace had great quickness, as well as her cousin, and 
though provoked at Eve’s quiet hit, she had the good sense 
and the good-nature to laugh. 

“ Perhaps we do protest and disdain a little too strenu- 
ously for good taste, if not to gain believers; but surely. 
Eve, you do not support these travellers in all that they 
have written of us ?” 

“ Not in half, I can assure you. My father and cousin 
Jack have discussed them too often in my presence to leave 
me in ignorance of the very many political blunders they 
have made in particular.” 

“ Political blunders ! I know nothing of them, and had 
rather thought them right in most of what they said about 
our politics. But, surely, neither your father nor Mr. John 
Effingham corroborates what they say of our society !” 


16 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ I cannot answer for either, on that point.” 

“ Speak, then, for yourself. Do you think them right ?” 

“ You should remember, Grace, that 1 have not yet seen 
any society in New York.” 

“ No society, dear ! — Why you were at the Hendersons’, 
and the Morgans’, and the Drewetts’ ; three of the greatest 
reunions that we have had in two winters !” 

“ I did not know that you meant those unpleasant crowds, 
by society.” 

“Unpleasant crowds! Why, child, that is society, is it 
not ?” 

“Not what I have been taught to consider such ; I rather 
think it would be better to call it company.” 

“ And is not this what is called society in Paris ?” 

“ As far from it as possible ; it may be an excrescence of 
society ; one of its forms ; but by no means society itself. 
It would be as true to call cards, which are sometimes 
introduced in the world, society, as to call a ball given in 
two small and crowded rooms, society. They are merely 
two of the modes in which idlers endeavor to vary their 
amusements.” 

“ But we have little else than these balls, the morning 
visits, and an occasional evening in which there is no dan- 
cing.” 

“ I am sorry to hear it ; for, in that case, you can have 
no society.” 

“ And is it different at Paris — or Florence, or Rome ?” 

“ V ery. In Paris there are many houses open every 
evening to which we can go with little ceremony. Our 
sex appears in them, dressed according to what a gentleman 
I overheard conversing at Mrs. Henderson’s would call their 
‘ ulterior intentions ’ for the night ; some attired in the 
simplest manner, others dressed for concerts, for the opera, 
for court even ; some on the way from a dinner, and others 
going to a late ball. All this matter of course variety adds 


HOME A 8 P 0*U N D . 


11 


to the ease and grace of the company, and coupled with 
perfect good manners, a certain knowledge of passing events, 
pretty modes of expression, an accurate and even utterance, 
the women usually find the means of making themselves 
agreeable. Their sentiment is sometimes a little heroic, 
but this one must overlook, and it is a taste, moreover, that 
is falling into disuse, as people read better books.” 

“ And you prefer this heartlessness. Eve, to the nature of 
your own country !” 

“ I do not know that quiet retenue and a good tone are 
a whit more heartless than flirting, giggling, and childishness. 
There may be more nature in the latter, certainly, but it is 
scarcely as agreeable, after one has fairly got rid of the 
nursery.” 

Grace looked vexed, but she loved her cousin too sincerely 
to be angry. A secret suspicion that Eve was right, too, 
came in aid of her affection, and while her little foot moved, 
she maintained her good-nature, a task not always attainable 
for those who believe that their own “ superlatives” scarcely 
reach to other people’s “ positives.” At this critical moment, 
when there was so much danger of a jar in the feelings of 
these two young females, the library door opened, and Pierre, 
Mr. Effingham’s own man, announced 

“ Monsieur Bragg.” 

“ Monsieur who ? ” asked Eve, in surprise. 

“ Monsieur Bragg,” returned Pierre, in French, “ desires 
to see Mademoiselle.” 

“ You mean my father, — I know no such person.” 

“ He inquired first for Monsieur, but understanding Mon- 
sieur w^as out, he next asked to have the honor of seeing 
Mademoiselle.” 

“ Is it what they call a person in England, Pierre ? ” 

Old Pierre smiled, as he answered 

“ He has the air. Mademoiselle, though he esteems him- 
self a personage, if I might take the liberty of judging.” 


18 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“Ask him for his card, — there must be a mistake, I 
think” 

AVhile this short conversation took place, Grace Van 
Cortlandt was sketching a cottage with a pen, without 
attending to a word that was said. But, when Eve received 
the card from Pierre and read aloud, with the tone of sur- 
prise that the name would be apt to excite in a novice in 
the art of American nomenclature, the words “ Aristabulus 
Bragg,” her cousin began to laugh. 

“ Who can this possibly be, Grace ? — Did you ever hear 
of such a person, and what right can he have to wish to see 
me ?” 

“ Admit him, by all means ; it is your father’s land agent, 
and he may wish to leave some message for my uncle. You 
will be obliged to make his acquaintance, sooner or later, 
and it may as well be done now as at another time.” 

“You have shown this gentleman into the front drawing- 
room, Pierre ? ” 

“ Oui, Mademoiselle.” 

“ I will ring when you are wanted.” 

Pierre withdrew, and Eve opened her secretaire, out of 
which she took a small manuscript book, over the leaves of 
which she passed her fingers rapidly. 

“ Here it is,” she said, smiling, “ ‘ Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, 
Attorney and Counsellor at Law, and the agent of the Tem- 
pleton estate.’ This precious little work, you must under- 
stand, Grace, contains sketches of the characters of such 
persons as I shall be the most likely to see, by John Effing- 
ham, A.M. It is a sealed volume, of course, but there can 
be no harm in reading the part that treats of our present 
visitor, and, with your permission, we will have it in common. 
— ‘ Mr. Aristabulus Bragg was born in one of the western 
counties of Massachusetts, and emigrated to New York, after 
receiving his education, at the mature age of nineteen ; at 
twenty-one he was admitted to the bar, and for the last 


HOME AS FOUND. 


19 


seven years he has been a successful practitioner in all the 
courts of Otsego, from the justice’s to the circuit. His 
talents are undeniable, as he commenced his education at 
fourteen and terminated it at twenty-one, the law course in- 
cluded. This man is an epitome of all that is good and all 
that is bad, in a very large class of his fellow citizens. He 
is quick-witted, prompt in action, enterprising in all things 
in which he has nothing to lose, but wary and cautious in 
all things in which he has a real stake, and ready to turn 
not only his hand, but his heart and his principles, to anv- 
thing that offers an advantage. With him, literally, “ no- 
thing is too high to be aspired to, nothing too low to be done.” 
He will run for Governor, or for town clerk, just as oppor- 
tunities occur, is expert in all the practices of his profession, 
has had a quarter’s dancing, with three years in the classics, 
and turned his attention towards medicine and divinity, 
before he finally settled down into the law. Such a com- 
pound of shrewdness, impudence, common-sense, pretension, 
humility, cleverness, vulgarity, kind-heartedness, duplicity, 
selfishness, law-honesty, moral fraud and mother wit, mixed 
up with a smattering of learning and much penetration in 
practical things, can hardly be described, as any one of his 
prominent qualities is certain to be met by another quite as 
obvious that is almost its converse. Mr. Bragg, in short, is 
purely a creature of circumstances, his qualities pointing 
him out for either a member of congress or a deputy sheriff', 
offices that he is equally ready to fill. I have employed 
him to watch over the estate of your father, in the absence 
of the latter, on the principle that one practised in tricks is 
the best qualified to detect and expose them, and with the 
certainty that no man will trespass with impunity, so long 
as the courts continue to tax bills of costs with their present 
liberality.’ You appear to know the gentleman, Grace ; is 
this character of him faithful ?” 

“ I know nothing of bills of costs and deputy sheriff's, but 


20 


HOME AS FOUND. 


I do know that Mr. Aristabnkis Bragg is an amusing mix- 
ture of strut, humility, roguery, and cleverness. He is 
waiting all this time in the drawing-room, and you had 
better see him, as he may now be almost considered part of 
the family. You know he has been living in the house at 
Templeton, ever since he was installed by Mr. John Effing- 
ham. It was there I had the honor first to meet him.” 

“First! — Surely you have never seen him anywhere 
else !” 

“Your pardon, my dear. He never comes to town with- 
out honoring me with a call. This is the price I pay for 
having had the honor of being an inmate of the same house 
with him for a week.” 

Eve rang the bell, and Pierre made his appearance. 

“ Desire Mr. Bragg to ’walk into the library.” 

Grace looked demure while Pierre was gone to usher in 
their visitor, and Eve w’as thinking of the medley of qualities 
John Effingham had assembled in his description, as the 
door opened, and the subject of her contemplation entered. 

“ Monsieur Aristabule,” said Pierre, eyeing the card, but 
sticking at the first name. 

Mr. Aristabulus Bragg was advancing with an easy assur- 
ance to make his bow to the ladies, when the more finished 
air and quiet dignity of Miss Effingham, who was standing, 
so far disconcerted him, as completely to upset his self-pos- 
session. As Grace had expressed it, in consequence of having 
lived three years in the old residence at Templeton, he had 
begun to consider himself a part of the family, and at home 
he never spoke of the young lady without calling her “ Eve,” 
or “ Eve Effingham.” But he found it a very different thing 
to affect familiarity among his associates, and to practise it 
in the very face of its subject; and, although seldom at a 
loss for words of some sort or another, he was now actuallv 
dumbfounded. Eve relieved his awkwardness by directir 
Pierre, with her eye, to hand a chair, and first speaking. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


21 


“ I regret that my father is not in,” she said, by way of 
turning the visit from herself ; “ but he is to be expected 
every moment. Are you lately from Templeton ?” 

Aristabulus drew his breath, and recovered enough of his 
ordinary tone of manner to reply with a decent regard to 
his character for self-command. The intimacy that he had 
intended to establish on the spot, was temporarily defeated, 
it is true, and without his exactly knowing how it had been 
effected ; for it was merely the steadiness of the young 
lady, blended as it was with a polished reserve, that had 
thrown him to a distance he could not explain. He felt 
immediately, and with taste that did his sagacity credit, that 
his footing in this quarter was only to be obtained by unu- 
sually slow and cautious means. Still Mr. Bragg was a 
man of great decision, and, in his way, of very far-sighted 
views ; and singular as it may seem, at that unpropitious 
moment, he mentally determined that, at no very distant 
<lay, he would make Miss Eve Effingham his wife. 

“ I hope Mr. Effingham enjoys good health,” he said, with 
some such caution as a rebuked school-girl enters on the 
recitation of her task — “he enjoyed bad health I hear (Mr. 
Aristabulus Bragg, though so shrewd, was far from critical 
in his modes of speech) when he went to Europe, and after 
travelling so far in such bad company, it would be no more 
than fair that he should have a little respite as he approach- 
es home and old age.” 

Had Eve been told that the man who uttered this nice 
sentiment, and that too in accents as uncouth and provincial 
as the thought was finished and lucid, actually presumed to 
think of her as his bosom companion, it is not easy to say 
which would have predominated in her mind, mirth or 
resentment. But Mr. Bragg was not in the habit of letting 
his secrets escape him prematurely, and certainly this was 
one that none but a wizard could have discovered without 
the aid of a direct oral or written communication. 


22 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“Are you lately from Templeton?” repeated Eve, a little 
surprised that the gentleman did not see fit to answei the 
question, which was the only one that, as it seemed to hei, 
could have common interest with them both. 

“ I left home the day before yesterday,” Aristabulus now 
deigned to reply. 

“ It is so long since I saw our beautiful mountains, and I 
was then so young, that I feel a great impatience to revisit 
them, though the pleasure must be deferred until spring ” 

“I conclude they are the handsomest mountains in the 
known world. Miss Efiingham !” 

“That is much more than I shall venture to claim for 
them ; but, according to my imperfect recollection, and, 
what I esteem of fixr more importance, according to the 
united testimony of Mr. John Efiingham and my father, I 
think they must be very beautiful.” 

Aristabulus looked up, as if he had a facetious thing 
to say, and he even ventured on a smile, while he made his 
answer. 

“ I hope Mr. John Efiingham has prepared you for a 
great change in the house ?” 

“ We know that it has been repaired and altered under 
his directions. That was done at my father’s request.” 

“We consider it denationalized. Miss Effingham, there 
being nothing like it, west of Albany at least.” 

“ I should be sorry to find that my cousin has subjected 
us to this imputation,” said Eve, smiling — perhaps a little 
equivocally ; “ the architecture of America being generally 
so simple and pure. Mr. Effingham laughs at his own im- 
provements, however, in which, he says, he has only carried 
out the plans of the original artiste, who worked very much 
in what was called the composite order.” 

“You allude to Mr. Hiram Doolittle, a gentleman I 
never saw ; though I hear he has left behind him many 
traces of his progress in the newer states. Ex pede Hercu- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


23 


lem^ as we say in the classics, Miss Effingham. I believe it 
is the general sentiment that Mr. Doolittle’s designs have 
been improved on, though most people think that the 
Grecian or Roman architecture, which is so much in use in 
America, would be more republican. But everybody knows 
that Mr. John Effingham is not much of a republican.” 

Eve did not choose to discuss her kinsman’s opinions with 
Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, and she quietly remarked that she 
“ did not know that the imitations of the ancient architecture, 
of which there are so many in the country, were owing to 
attachment to republicanism.” 

“ To what else can it be owing. Miss Eve ?” 

“ Sure enough,” said Grace Van Cortlandt ; “ it is unsuited 
to the materials, the climate, and the uses ; and some very 
powerful motive, like that mentioned by Mr. Bragg, could 
alone overcome these obstacles.” 

Aristabulus started from his seat, and making sundry 
apologies, declared his previous unconsciousness that Miss 
Van Cortlandt was present; all of which was true enough, 
as he had been so much occupied mentally with her cousin 
as not to have observed her, seated as she was partly behind 
a screen. Grace received the excuses favorably, and the 
conversation was resumed. 

“ I am sorry that my cousin should offend the taste of the 
country,” said Eve, “ but as we are to live in the house the 
punishment will fall heaviest on the offenders.” 

“ Do not mistake me, Miss Eve,” returned Aristabulus in 
a little alarm, for he too well understood the influence and 
wealth of John Effingham, not to wish to be on good terms 
with him, “do not mistake me. I admire the house, and 
know it to be a perfect specimen of a pure architecture in 
its way, but then public opinion is not yet quite up to it. 
I see all its beauties, I would wish you to know, but then 
there are many, a majority perhaps, who do not, and these 
persons think they ought to be consulted about such matters.” 


24 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“I believe Mr. John Effingham thinks less of his own 
work than you seem to think of it yourself, sir, for I have 
frequently heard him laugh at it as a mere enlargement of 
the merits of the Composite order. He calls it a caprice 
rather than a taste : nor do I see what concern a majority, 
as you term them, can have with a house that does not 
belong to them.” 

Aristabulus was surprised that any one could disregard a 
majority ; for in this respect he a good deal resembled Mr. 
Dodge, though running a different career ; and the look of 
surprise he gave was natural and open. 

“ I do not mean that the public has a legal right to con- 
trol the tastes of the citizen,” he said, “but in a republican 
government, you imdoubtedly understand. Miss Eve, it will 
rule in all things.” 

“ I can understand that one would wish to see his neigh- 
bor use good taste, as it helps to embellish a country ; but 
the man who should consult the whole neighborhood before 
he built would be very apt to cause a complicated house to 
be erected, if he paid much respect to the different opinions 
he received ; or, what is quite as likely, apt to have no house 
at all.” 

“ I think you are mistaken. Miss Effingham, for the public 
sentiment just now runs almost exclusively and popularly 
into the Grecian school. We build little besides temples for 
our churches, our banks, our taverns, our court-houses, and 
our dwellings. A friend of mine has just built a brewery 
on the model of the Temple of the Winds.” 

“ Had it been a mill, one might understand the conceit,” 
said Eve, who now began to perceive that her visitor had 
some latent humor, though he produced it in a manner to 
induce one to think him anything but a droll. “The 
mountains must be doubly beautiful if they are decorated in 
the way you mention. I sincerely hope, Grace, that I shall 
find the hills as pleasant as they now exist in my recollection.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


25 


“ Should they not prove to be quite as lovely as you ima- 
gine, Miss Effingham,” returned Aristabulus, who saw no 
impropriety in answering a remark made to Miss Van 
Cortlandt, or any one else, “ I hope you will have the 
kindness to conceal the fact from the world.” 

“ I am afraid that would exceed my power — the disap- 
pointment would be so strong. May I ask why you show 
so much interest in my keeping so cruel a mortification to 
myself?” 

“ Why, INIiss Eve,” said Aristabulus, looking grave, “ I 
am afraid that our people would hardly bear the expression 
of such an opinion from you.” 

“ From me ! — and why not from me, in particular ?” 

“ Perhaps it is because they think you have travelled, 
and have seen other countries.” 

“ And is it only those who have not travelled, and who 
have no means of knowing the value of what they say, 
that are privileged to criticise ?” 

“ I cannot exactly explain my own meaning, perhaps, but 
I think Miss Grace v/ill understand me. Do you not agree 
with me. Miss Van Cortlandt, in thinking it would be safer 
for one who never saw any other mountains, to complain of 
the tameness and monotony of our own, than for one who 
had passed a whole life among the Andes and the Alps ?” 

Eve smiled, for she saw that Mr. Bragg was capable 
of detecting and laughing at provincial pride, even while 
he was so much under its influence ; and Grace colored, for 
she had the consciousness of having already betrayed some 
of this very silly sensitiveness in her intercourse with her 
cousin, in connexion with other subjects. A reply was un- 
necessary, however, as the door just then opened, and 'John 
Effingham made his appearance. The meeting between 
the two gentlemen, for we suppose Aristabulus must be 
included in the category, by courtesy, if not of right, was 
more cordial than Eve had expected to witness, for each 

2 


2G 


HOME AS FOUND. 


really entertained a respect for the other, in reference to a 
merit of a particular sort; Mr. Bragg esteeming Mr. John 
Effingham as a wealthy and caustic cynic, and Mr.Vohn 
Effingham regarding Mr. Bragg much as the owner of 
a dwelling regards a valuable house-dog. After a few mo- 
ments of conversation the two withdrew together ; and just 
as the ladies were about to descend to the drawing-room, 
previously to dinner, Pierre announced that a plate had 
been ordered for the land agent. 


HOME AS FOUND, 


2V 


CHAPTER II. 


“ I know that Deformed; he has been a vile thief this seven years ; he goes up 
and down like a gentleman.” 


Much Ado about Nothing. 


Eve and her cousin found Sir George Templemore and 
Captain Truck in the drawing-room, the former having lin- 
gered in New York, with a desire to be near his friends, and 
the latter being on the point of sailing for Europe, in his 
regular turn. To these must be added Mr. Bragg and the 
ordinary inmates of the house, when the reader will get a 
view of the whole party. 

Aristabulus had never before sat down to as brilliant a 
table, and for the first time in his life he saw candles lighted 
at a dinner ; but he was not a man to be disconcerted at a 
novelty. Had he been a European of the same origin and 
habits, awkwardness would have betrayed him fifty times 
before the dessert made its appearance ; but being the man 
he was, one who overlooked a certain prurient politeness 
that rather illustrated his deportment, might very well have 
permitted him to pass among the oi polloi of the world, 
were it not for a peculiar management in the way of provid- 
ing for himself. It is true, he asked every one near him to 
eat of everything he could himself reach, and that he used 
his knife as a coal-heaver uses his shovel ; but the company 
he was in, though fastidious in its own deportment, was 
altogether above the silver-forkisms, and this portion of his 
demeanor, if it did not escape undetected, passed away un- 
noticed. Not so, however, with the peculiarity already 
mentioned as an exception. This touch of deportment, (or 


28 


HOME AS FOUND. 


management, perhaps, is the better word,) being charac- 
teristic of the man, it deserves to be mentioned a little in 
detail. 

The service at Mr. Effingham’s table was made in the 
quiet but thorough manner that distinguishes a French 
dinner. Every dish was removed, carved by the domestics, 
and handed in turn to each guest. But there were a delay 
and a finish in this arrangement that suited neither Arista- 
b'ulus’s go-a-head-ism, nor his organ of acquisitiveness. 
Instead of waiting, therefore, for the more graduated move- 
ments of the domestics, he began to take care of himself, an 
office that he performed with a certain dexterity that he had 
acquired by frequenting ordinaries — a school, by the way, 
in which he had obtained most of his notions of the pro- 
prieties of the table. One or two slices were obtained in 
the usual manner, or by means of the regular service ; and 
then, like one who had laid the foundation of a fortune by 
some lucky windfall in the commencement of his career, he 
began to make accessions, right and left, as opportunity 
offered. Sundry entremets^ or light dishes that had a pecu- 
liarly tempting appearance, came first under his grasp. Of 
these he soon accumulated all within his reach, by taxing 
his neighbors, when he ventured to send his plate here and 
there, or wherever he saw a dish that promised to reward 
his trouble. By such means, which were resorted to, how- 
ever, with a quiet and unobtrusive assiduity that escaped 
much observation, Mr. Bragg contrived to make his own 
plate a sample epitome of the first course. It contained in 
the centre, fish, beef, and ham; and around these staple 
articles he had arranged croquettes, rognons, lAgouts, vege- 
tables, and other light things, until not only was the plate 
completely covered, but it Avas actually covered in double 
and triple layers ; mustard, cold butter, salt, and even pep- 
per garnishing its edges. These different accumulations 
were the work of time and address, and most of the com- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


29 


pany had repeatedly changed their plates before Aristabnlus 
had eaten a mouthful, the soup excepted. The happy 
moment when his ingenuity was to be rewarded had now 
arrived, and the land agent was about to commence the 
process of mastication, or of deglutition rather, for he trou- 
bled himself very little with the first operation, when the 
report of a cork drew his attention towards the champagne. 
To Aristabulus this wine never came amiss, for relishing its 
piquancy, he had never gone far enough into the science of 
the table to learn which were the proper moments for using 
it. As respected all the others at table, this moment had in 
truth arrived, though, as respected himself, he was no 
nearer to it, according to a regulated taste, than when he 
first took his seat. Perceiving that Pierre was serving it, 
however, he offered his own glass, and enjoyed a delicious 
instant as he swallowed a beverage that much surpassed any- 
thing he had ever known to issue out of the waxed and 
leaded nozzles that, pointed like so many enemies’ batteries 
loaded with headaches and disordered stomachs, garnished 
sundry village bars of his acquaintance. 

Aristabulus finished his glass at a draught, and when he 
took breath he fairly smacked his lips. That was an 
unlucky instant ; his plate, burdened with all its treasures, 
being removed at this unguarded moment ; the man who 
performed this unkind office fancying that a dislike to the 
dishes could alone have given rise to such an omnium- 
gatherum. 

It was necessary to commence de novo^ but this could no 
longer be done with the first tourse, which was removed, 
and Aristabulus set to with zeal forthwith on the game. 
Necessity compelled him to eat, as the different dishes were 
offered ; and such was his ordinary assiduity with the knife 
and fork, that, at the end of the second remove, he had 
actually disposed of more food than any other person at 
table. He now began to converse, and we shall open the 


30 


HOME AS FOUND. 


conversation at the precise point in the dinner when it was 
in the power of Aristabulus to make one of the interlocu- 
tors. 

Unlike Mr. Dodge, he had betrayed no peculiar interest 
in the baronet, being a man too shrewd and worldly to set 
his heart on trifles of any sort ; and Mr. Bragg no more 
hesitated about replying to Sir George Templemore or Mr. 
Effingham, than he would have hesitated about answering 
one of his own nearest associates. With him age and ex- 
perience formed no particular claims to be heard, and, as to 
rank, it is true he had some vague ideas about there being 
such a thing in the militia, but as it was unsalaried rank, he 
attached no great importance to it. Sir George Temple- 
more was inquiring concerning the recording of deeds, a 
regulation that had recently attracted attention in England ; 
and one of Mr. Effingham’s replies contained some immate- 
rial inaccuracy, which Aristabulus took occasion to correct, 
as his flrst appearance in the general discourse. 

“ I ask pardon, sir,” he concluded his explanations by say- 
ing, “ but I ought to know these little niceties, having served 
a short part of a term as a county clerk, to All a vacancy 
occasioned by a death.” 

“ You mean, Mr. Bragg, that you were employed to write 
in a county clerk’s office,” observed John Effingham, who so 
much disliked untruth, that he did not hesitate much about 
refuting it, or what he now fancied to be an untruth. 

“ As county clerk, sir. Major Pippin died a year before 
his time was out, and I got the appointment. As regular a 
county clerk, sir, as there i^in the fifty-six counties of New 
York.” 

“ When I had the honor to engage you as Mr. Effingham’s 
agent, sir,” returned the other, a little sternly, for he felt his 
own character for veracity involved in that of the subject of 
his selection, “ I believed, indeed, that you were writing in 
the office, but T did not understand it was as the clerk.” 


I 


HOME AS FOUND. 


31 


“Very true, Mr. Jolin,” returned Aristabulus, without dis- 
covering the least concern, “ I was then engaged by my 
successor as a clerk ; but a few months earlier, I filled the 
office myself.” 

“ Had you gone on, in the regular line of promotion, my 
dear sir,” pithily inquired Captain Truck, “ to what prefer- 
ment would you have risen by this time ?” 

“ I believe I understand you, gentlemen,” returned the 
unmoved Aristabulus, who perceived a general smile. “ I 
know that some people are particular about keeping pretty 
much on the same level, as to office : but I hold to no such 
doctrine. If one good thing cannot be had, I do not see 
that it is a reason for rejecting another. I ran that year for 
sheriff, and finding I was not strong enough to carry the 
county, I accepted my successor’s offer to write in the office, 
until something better might turn up.” 

“You practised all this time, I believe, Mr. Bragg,” 
observed John Effingham.. 

“I did a little in that way too, sir ; or as much as I could. 
Law is flat with us of late, and many of the attorneys are 
turning their attention to other callings.” 

“ And pray, sir,” asked Sir George, “ what is the favorite 
pursuit wfith most of them just now ?” 

“ Some our way have gone into the horse-line ; but 
much the greater portion are just now dealing in western 
cities.” 

“In western cities!” exclaimed the baronet, looking as 
if he distrusted a mystification. 

“ In such articles, and in mill-seats, and railroad lines, and 
other expectations.” 

“ Mr. Bragg means that they are buying and selling lands 
on which it is hoped all these conveniences may exist, a 
century hence,” explained John Effingham. 

“ The hope is for next year, or next week even, Mr. 
John,” returned Aristabulus wdth a sly look, “though you 


32 


HOME AS FOUND. 


may be very right as to the reality. Great fortunes have 
been made on a capital of hopes, lately, in this country.” 

“ And have you been able yourself to resist these tempta- 
tions ?” asked Mr. Effingham. “ I feel doubly indebted to 
you, sir, that you should have continued to devote your time 
to my interests, while so many better things were offering.” 

“ It was my duty, sir,” said Aristabulus, bowing so much 
the lower, from the consciousness that he had actually de- 
serted his post for some months, to embark in the western 
speculations that were then so active in the country, “ not 
to say my pleasure. There are many profitable occupations 
in this country. Sir George, that have been overlooked in the 
eagerness to embark in the town-trade ” 

“ Mr. Bragg does not mean trade in town, but trade in 
towns,” explained John Effingham. 

“Yes, sir, the traffic in cities. I never come this way 
without casting an eye about me, in order to see if there is 
anything to be done that is useful ^ and I confess that several 
available opportunities have offered, if one had capital, 
Milk is a good business.” 

“ Le lait !” exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, involun- 
tarily. 

“Yes, ma’am, for ladies as w^ell as gentlemen. Sweet 
potatoes I have heard well spoken of, and peaches are really 
making some rich men’s fortunes.” 

“ All of which are honester and better occupations than 
the traffic in cities, that you have mentioned,” quietly 
observed Mr. Effingham. 

Aristabulus looked up in a little surprise, for with him every- 
thing was eligible that returned a good profit, and all things 
honest that the law did not actually punish. Perceiving, 
however, that the company was disposed to listen, and hav- 
ing by this time recovered the lost ground, in the way of 
food, he cheerfully resumed his theme. 

“ Many families have left Otsego, this and the last sum- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


33 


mer Mr. Effingham, as emigrants for the west. The fever 
has spread far and wide.” 

“ The fever ! Is old Otsego,” for so its inhabitants loved 
to call a county of half a century’s existence, it being vene- 
rable by comparison, “ is old Otsego losing its well established 
character for salubrity ?” 

“ I do not allude to an animal fever, but to the western 
fever.” 

“ Ce pays de I’ouest, est-il bien malsain?” whispered 
Mademoiselle Viefville. 

“ Apparemment, Mademoiselle, sur plusieurs rapports.” 

“ The western fever has seized old and young, and it has 
carried off many active families from our part of the world,” 
continued Aristabulus, who did not understand the little 
aside just mentioned, and who, of course, did not heed it; 
“ most of the counties adjoining our own have lost a con- 
siderable portion of their population.” 

“ And they who have gone, do they belong to the per- 
manent families, or are they merely the floating inhabitants ?” 
inquired Mr. Effingham. 

“ Most of them belong to the regular movers.” 

“ Movers !” again exclaimed Sir George — “ is there any 
material part of your population who actually deserve this 
name ?” 

“ As much so as the man who shoes a horse ought to be 
called a smith, or the man who frames a house a carpenter,” 
answered John Effingham. 

“ To be sure,” continued Mr. Bragg, “ we have a pretty 
considerable leaven of them in our political dough, as well 
as in our active business. I believe. Sir George, that in 
England men are tolerably stationary.” 

“We love to continue for generations on the same spot. 
We love the tree that our forefathers planted, the roof that 
they built, the fireside by which they sat, the sods that 
cover their remains." 


34 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“Very poetical, and I dare say there are situations in life 
in which such feelings come in without much effort. It 
must he a great check to business operations, however, in 
your part of the world, sir !” 

“ Business operations ! what is business, as you term it, 
sir, to the affections, to the recollections of ancestry, and to 
the solemn feelings connected with history and tradition ?” 

“ Why, sir, in the way of history, one meets with but few 
incumbrances in this country, but he may do very much as 
interest dictates, so far as that is concerned, at least. A na- 
tion is much to be pitied that is weighed down by the past, 
in this manner, since its industry and enterprise are con- 
stantly impeded by obstacles that grow out of its recollec- 
tions. America may, indeed, be termed a happy and a free 
country, Mr John Effingham, in this, as well as in all other 
things 1” 

Sir George Templemore was too well-bred to utter all he 
felt at that moment, as it would unavoidably wound the feel- 
ings of his hosts, but he was rewarded for his forbearance 
by intelligent smiles from Eve and Grace, the latter of whom 
the young baronet fancied, just at that moment, was quite 
as beautiful as her cousin, and if less finished in manners, 
she had the most interesting naivete. 

“ I have been told that most old nations have to struggle 
with difficulties that we escape,” returned John Effingham, 
“ though I confess this is a superiority on our part that 
never before presented itself to my mind.” 

“ The political economists, and even the geographers, have 
overlooked it, but practical men see and feel its advantages 
every hour in the day. I have been told. Sir George Tem- 
plemore, that in England, there are difficulties in running 
highways and streets through homesteads and dwellings ; 
and that even a railroad or a canal in obliged to make a 
curve to avoid a church-yard or a tonffi-stone ?” 

“ I confess to the sin, sir.” 


HOMEASFOUND. 35 

“ Our friend Mr. Bragg,” put in John Effingham, “ con- 
siders life as all means and no end.” 

“An end cannot he got at without the means, Mr. John 
Effingham, as I trust you will yourself admit. I am for the 
end of the road at least, and must say that I rejoice in being 
a native of a country in which as few impediments as possi- 
ble exkt to onward impulses. The man who should resist 
an improvement in our part of the country, on account of 
his forefathers, would fare badly among his contemporaries.” 

“ Will you permit me to ask, Mr. Bragg, if you feel no 
local attachments yourself,” inquired the baronet, throwing 
as much .delicacy into the tones of his voice, as a question 
that he felt ought to be an insult to a man’s heart would 
allow — “ if one tree is not more pleasant than another ; the 
house you were born in more beautiful than a house into 
which you never entered ; or the altar at which you have 
long worshipped, more sacred than another at which you 
never knelt ?” 

“ Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than to answer the 
questions of gentlemen that travel through our country,” 
returned Aristabulus, “ for I think, in making nations ac- 
quainted with each other, we encourage trade and render 
business more secure. To reply to your inquiry, a human 
being is not a cat, to love a locality rather than its own in- 
terests. I have found some trees much pleasanter than 
others, and the pleasantest tree I can remember was one of 
my own, out of which the sawyers made a thousand feet of 
clear stuff, to say nothing of middlings. The house I was 
born in was pulled down shortly after my birth, as indeed 
has been its successor, so I can tell you nothing on that 
head ; and as for altars, there are none in my persuasion.” 

“ The church of Mr. Bragg has stripped itself as naked 
as he would strip everything else, if he could,” said John 
Effingham. “ I much question if he ever knelt even ; much 
less before an altar.” 


36 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“We are of the standing order, certainly,” returned Aris- 
tabulus, glancing towards the ladies to discover how they 
took his wit, “ and Mr. John Effingham is as near right as a 
man need be, in a matter of faith. In the way of houses, 
Mr. Effingham, I believe it is the general opinion you might 
have done better with your own, than to have repaired it. 
Had the materials been disposed of, they would have sold 
well, and by running a street through the property, a pretty 
sum might have been realized.” 

“ In which case I should have been without a home, Mr. 
Bragg.” 

“ It would have been no great matter to get another on 
cheaper land. The old residence would have made a good 
factory, or an inn.” 

“ Sir, I am a catj and like the places I have long fre- 
quented.” 

Aristabulus, though not easily daunted, was awed by Mr. 
Effingham’s manner, and Eve saw that her father’s fine face 
had flushed. This interruption, therefore, suddenly changed 
the discourse, which has been related at some length, as 
likely to give the reader a better insight into a character* 
that will fill some space in our narrative, than a more labored 
description. 

“ I trust your owners. Captain Truck,” said John Effing- 
ham, by way of turning the conversation into another chan- 
nel, “ are fully satisfied with the manner in which you saved 
their property from the hands of the Arabs ?” 

“ Men, when money is concerned, are more disposed to 
remember how it was lost than how it was recovered, religion 
and trade being the two poles, on such a point,” returned 
the old seaman, with a serious face. “ On the whole, my 
dear sir, I have reason to be satisfied, however ; and so long 
as you, my passengers and my friends, are not inclined to 
blame me, I shall feel as if I had done at least a part of my 
duty.” 


HOME AS FOUND 


37 


Eve rose from table, went to a side-board and returned, 
when she gracefully placed before the master of the Mon- 
tauk a rich and beautifully chased punch-bowl in silver. 
Almost at the same moment, Pierre offered a salver that 
contained a capital watch, a pair of small silver tongs to 
hold a coal, and a deck trumpet, in solid silver. 

“ These are so many faint testimonials of our feelings,” 
said Eve — “ and you will do us the favor to retain them, as 
evidences of the esteem created by skill, kindness, and 
courage.” 

“ My dear young lady !” cried. the old tar, touched to the 
soul by the feeling with which Eve acquitted herself of this 
little duty, “ my dear young lady — well, God bless you — 
God bless you all — you too, Mr. John Effingham, for that 
matter — and Sir George — that I should ever have taken 
that runaway for a gentleman and a baronet — though I sup- 
pose there are some silly baronets, as well as silly lords — 
retain them ?” glancing furiously at Mr Aristabulus Bragg, 
“ may the Lord forget me in the heaviest hurricane, if I ever 
forget whence these things came, and why they were given.” 

Here the worthy captain was obliged to swallow some 
wine, by way of relieving his emotions, and Aristabulus, 
profiting by the opportunity, coolly took the bowl, which, to 
use a word of his own, he hefted in his hand, with a view to 
form some tolerably accurate notion of its intrinsic value. 
Captain Truck’s eye caught the action, and he reclaimed his 
property quite as unceremoniously as it had been taken 
away, nothing but the presence of the ladies preventing an 
outbreaking that would have amounted to a declaration of 
war. 

“ With your permission, sir,” said the captain drily, after 
he had recovered the bowl, not only without the other’s 
consent, but in some degree against his will ; “ this bowl is 
as precious in my eyes as if it were made of my father’s 
bones.” 


38 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“You may indeed think so,” returned the land-agent, 
“ for its cost could not he less than a hundred dollars.” 

“ Cost, sir ! But, my dear young lady, let us talk of the 
real value. For what part of these things am I indebted to 
you ?” 

“The bowl is my offering,” Eve answered smilingly, 
though a tear glistened in her eye, as she witnessed the 
strong unsophisticated feeling of the old tar. “ I thought it 
might serve sometimes to bring me to your recollection, 
when it was well filled in honor of ‘ sweethearts and wives.’ ” 

“ It shall — it shall, by the Lord ; and Mr. Saunders needs 
look to it, if he do not keep this work as bright as a cruis- 
ing frigate’s bottom. To whom do I ow^e the coal-tongs ?” 

“ Those are from Mr. John Effingham, who insists that he 
will come nearer to your heart than any of us, though the 
gift be of so little cost.” 

“lie does not know me, my dear young lady — nobody 
ever got as near my heart as you ; no, not even my own 
dear pious old mother. But I thank Mr. John Effingham 
from my inmost spirit, and shall seldom smoke without 
thinking of him. The watch I know is Mr. Effingham’s, 
and I ascribe the trumpet to Sir Ceorge.” 

The bows of the several gentlemen assured the captain he 
was right, and he shook each of ' them cordially by the hand, 
protesting, in the fulness of his heart, that nothing would 
give him greater pleasure than to be able to go through the 
same perilous scenes as those from which they had so lately 
escaped, in their good company again. 

While this was going on, Aristabulus, notwithstanding the 
rebuke he had received, contrived to get each article, in suc- 
cession, into his hands, and by dint of poising it on a finger, 
or by examining it, to form some approximative notion of 
its inherent value. The watch he actually opened, taking 
as good a survey of its works as the circumstances of the 
case would very well allow. 


H O M E A S F O U N D . 39 

“ I respect these things, sir, more than you respect your 
father’s grave,” said Captain Truck sternly, as he rescued 
the last article from what he thought the impious grasp of 
Aristahulus again, “ and cat or no cat, they sink or swim 
with me for the remainder of the cruise. If there is any 
virtue in a will, which I am sorry to say I hear there is not 
any longer, they shall share my last bed with me, be it 
ashore or be it afloat. My dear young lady, fancy all the 
rest, but depend on it, punch will be sweeter than ever taken 
from this bowl, and ‘ sweethearts and wives’ will never be 
so honored again.” 

“We are going to a ball this evening, at the house of one 
with whom I am sufficiently intimate to take the liberty of 
introducing a stranger, and I wish, gentlemen,” said Mr. 
Effingham, bowing to Aristabulus and the captain, by way 
of changing the conversation, “ you would do me the favor 
to be of our party.” 

Mr. Bragg acquiesced very cheerfully, and quite as a 
matter of course ; while Captain Truck, after protesting his 
unfitness for such scenes, was finally prevailed on by John 
Efiingham to comply with the request also. The ladies 
remained at table but a few minutes longer, when they 
retired, Mr. Effingham having dropped into the old custom 
of sitting at the bottle until summoned to the drawing- 
room, a usage that continues to exist in America, for a reason 
no better than the fact that it continues to exist in England ; 
it being almost certain that it will cease in New York, the 
season after it is known to have ceased in London. 


40 


home as found. 


CHAPTER m. 

“Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful 1” 

Shakspeaeb. 

As Captain Truck asked permission to initiate the new 
coal-tongs by lighting a cigar, Sir George Templemore con- 
trived to ask Pierre, in an aside, if the ladies would allow 
him to join them. The desired consent having been ob- 
tained, the baronet quietly stole from table, and was soon 
beyond the odors of the dining-room. 

“You miss the censer and the frankincense,” said Eve, 
laughing, as Sir George entered the drawing-room ; “ but 
you will remember we have no church establishment, and 
dare not take such liberties with the ceremonials of the 
altar.” 

“ That is a short-lived custom with us, I fancy, though far 
from an unpleasant one. But you do me injustice in sup- 
posing I am merely running away from the fumes of the 
dinner.” 

“ No, no ; we understand perfectly well that you have 
something to do with the fumes of flattery, and we will at 
once fancy all has been said that the occasion requires. Is 
not our honest old captain a jewel in his way ?” 

“ Upon my word, since you allow me to speak of your 
father’s guests, I do not think it possible to have brought 
together two men who are so completely the opposites of 
each other, as Captain Truck and this Mr. Aristabulus 
Bragg. The latter is quite the most extraordinary person 
in his way it was ever my good fortune to meet with.” 

“You call him a person, while Pierre calls him a person- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


41 


age ; I fancy he considers it very much as a matter of 
accident, whether he is to pass his days in the one character 
or in the other. Cousin Jack assures me, that while this 
man accepts almost any duty that he chooses to assign him, 
he would not deem it at all a violation of the convenances 
to aim at the throne in the White House.” 

“ Certainly with no hopes of ever attaining it !” 

“ One cannot answer for that. The man must undergo 
many essential changes, and much radical improvement, 
before such a climax to his fortunes can ever occur ; but the 
instant you do away with the claims of hereditary power, 
the door is opened to a new chapter of accidents. Alexan- 
der of Russia styled himself un heureux accident ; and should 
it ever be our fortune to receive Mr. Bragg as President, we 
shall only have to term him un malheureux accident. I 
believe that will contain all the difference.” 

“ Your republicanism is indomitable. Miss Effingham, and 
I shall abandon the attempt to convert you to safer princi- 
ples, more especially as I find you supported by both the 
Mr. Effinghams, who, while they condemn so much at 
home, seem singularly attached to their own system at 
the bottom.” 

“ They condemn. Sir George Templemore, because they 
know that perfection is hopeless, and because they feel it to 
be unsafe and unwise to eulogize defects ; and they are 
attached, because near views of other countries have con- 
vinced them that, comparatively at least, bad as we are, we 
are still better than most of our neighbors.” - 

“ I can assure you,” said Grace, “ that many of the 
opinions of Mr. John Effingham, in particular, are not at all 
the opinions that are most in vogue here ; he rather cen- 
sures what we like, and likes what we censure. Even my 
dear uncle is thought to be a little heterodox on such sub- 
jects.” 

“ T can readily believe it,” returned Eve, steadily. 


42 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ These gentlemen having become familiar with better 
things in the way of the tastes and of the purely agreeable, 
cannot discredit their own knowledge so much as to extol 
that which their own experience tells them is faulty, or con- 
demn that which their own experience tells them is rela- 
tively good. Now, Grace, if you will reflect a moment, you 
will perceive that people necessarily like the best of their 
own tastes until they come to a knowledge of better, and 
that they as necessarily quarrel with the unpleasant facts 
that surround them, although these facts, as consequences of 
a political system, may be much less painful than those of 
other systems of which they have no knowledge. In the 
one case they like their own best, simply because it is their 
own best ; and they dislike their own worst, because it is 
their own worst. We cherish a taste in the nature of things, 
without entering into any comparisons ; for when the means 
of comparison offer, and we And improvements, it ceases to 
be a taste at all, while to complain of any positive grievance, 
is the nature of man, I fear.” 

“ I think a republic odious !” 

“ La repuhlique est une horreur P’’ 

Grace thought a republic odious, without knowing any- 
thing of any other state of society, and because it contained 
odious things, and Mademoiselle Yiefville called a republic 
une horreur^ because heads fell and anarchy prevailed in her 
own country during its early struggles for liberty. Though 
Eve seldom spoke more sensibly and never more temperately 
than while delivering the foregoing opinions. Sir George 
Templemore doubted whether she had all that exquisite 
finesse and delicacy of features that he had so much 
admired, and when Grace burst out in the sudden and sense- 
less exclamation we have recorded, he turned towards her 
sweet and animated countenance, which, for the moment, he 
fancied the loveliest of the two. 

Eve Effingham had yet to learn that she had just entered 


HOME AS FOUND. 


43 


into the most intolerant society, meaning purely as society, 
and in connexion with what are usually called liberal senti- 
ments, in Christendom. We do not mean by this, that it 
would he less safe to utter a generous opinion in favor of 
human rights in America than in any other country, for 
the laws and the institutions become active in this respect ; 
hut simply that the resistance of the more refined to the 
encroachments of the unrefined, has brought about a state 
of feeling — a feeling that is seldom just and never philoso- 
phical — which has created a silent but almost unanimous 
bias against the effects of the institutions in what is called 
the world. In Europe one rarely utters a sentiment of this 
nature under circumstances in which it is safe to do so at 
all, without finding a very general sympathy in the audi- 
tors ; but in the circle into which Eve had now fallen, it was 
almost considered a violation of the proprieties. We do not 
wish to be understood as saying more than we mean, how- 
ever ; for we have no manner of doubt that a large portion 
of the dissentients even, are so idly, and without reflection, 
or for the very natural reasons already given by our heroine ; 
but we do wish to be understood as meaning that such is 
the outward appearance wEich American society presents to 
every stranger, and to every native of the country too, on 
his return from a residence among other people. Of its 
taste, wisdom, and safety we shall not now speak, but con- 
tent ourselves with merely saying that the effect of Grace’s 
exclamation on Eve was unpleasant, and that, unlike the 
baronet, she thought her cousin was never less handsome 
than while her pretty face was covered with the pettish 
frown it had assumed for the occasion. 

Sir George Templemore had tact enough to perceive there 
had been a slight jar in the feelings of these two young 
women, and he adroitly changed the conversation. With 
Eve he had entire confidence on the score of provincialism, 
and, without exactly anticipating the part Grace would be 


44 


HOME AS FOUND. 


likely to take in such a discussion, he introduced the cabject 
of general society in New York. 

“ I am desirous to know,” he said, “ if you have your 
sets, as we have them in London and Paris. Whether you 
have your Faubourg St. Germain and your Chaussee 
d’Antin ; your Piccadilly, Grosvenor and Russell Squares.” 

“ I must refer you to Miss Van Cortlandt for an answer to 
that question,” said Eve. 

Grace looked up blushing ; for there w^ere both novelty 
and excitement in having an intelligent foreigner question 
heron such a subject. 

“ I do not know that I rightly understand the allusion,” 
she said ; “ although 1 am afraid Sir George Templemore 
means to ask if we have distinctions in society ?” 

“ And why afraid. Miss Van Cortlandt ?” 

“ Because it strikes me such a question would imply a 
doubt of our civilization.” 

“ There are frequently distinctions made, when the differ- 
ences are not obvious,” observed Eve. “ Even London and 
Paris are not above the imputation of this folly. Sir George 
Templemore, if I understand him, wishes to know if we esti- 
mate gentility by streets, and quality by squares.” 

“ Not exactly that either. Miss Effingham ; but, whether 
among those who may very well pass for gentlemen and 
ladies, you enter into the minute distinctions that are else- 
where found. Whether you have your exclusives and your 
elegants and Hegantes ; or whether you deem all within the 
pale as on an equality ?” 

“Zcs femmes Americaines sont hien jolies P’’ exclaimed Ma- 
demoiselle Viefville. 

“ It is quite impossible that coteries should not form in a 
town of three hundred thousand souls.” 

“I do not mean exactly that. Is there no distinction 
between coteries ? Is not one placed by opinion, by a silent 
consent, if not by positive ordinances, above another?’ 


HOME AS FOUND. 


45 


“ Certainly, that to which Sir George Templemore alludes, 
is to be found,” said Grace, who gained courage to speak, as 
she found the subject getting to be more clearly within her 
comprehension. “All the old families, for instance, keep 
more together than the others, though it is the subject of 
regret that they are not more particular than they are.” 

“ Old families !” exclaimed Sir George Templemore, with 
quite as much stress as a well-bred man could very well lay 
on the words in such circumstances. 

“Old families,” repeated Eve, with all that emphasis 
which the' baronet himself had hesitated about giving. “As 
old at least as two centuries can make them, and this, too, 
with origins beyond that period, like those of the rest of 
the world. Indeed the American has a better gentility 
than common, as, besides his own, he may take root in that 
of Europe.” 

“ Do not misconceive me. Miss Effingham. I am fully 
aware that the people of this country are exactly like the 
people of all other civilized countries in this respect ; but 
my surprise is that, in a republic, you should have such a 
term even as that of ‘ old families.’ ” 

“ The surprise has arisen, I must be permitted to say, from 
not having sufficiently reflected on the real state of the 
country. There are two great causes of distinction every- 
where, wealth and merit. Now if a race of Americans con- 
tinue conspicuous in their own society through either or 
both of these causes for a succession of generations, why 
have they not the same claims to be considered members of 
old families, as Europeans under the same circumstances ? 
A republican history is as much history as a monarchical 
history ; and a historical name in one, is quite as much enti- 
tled to consideration as a historical name in another. Nay, 
you admit this in your European republics, while you wish 
to deny it in ours.” 

“ T must insist on having proofs ; if we permit these 


46 


home as found. 


charges to be brought against us without evidence, Mademoi- 
selle Viefville, we shall finally he defeated through our own 
neglect.” 

“ C’est une belle illustration, celle de I’antiquite,” observ- 
ed the governess, in a matter of course tone. 

“ If you insist on proof, what answer can you urge to the 
Capponi ? ‘ Sonnez vos trompettes, et je vais faire -sonner 

mes cloches,’— or to the Von Erlachs, a family that has 
headed so many resistances to oppression and invasion, for 
five centuries ?” 

“ All this is very true,” returned Sir George, “ and yet I 
confess it is not the way in which it is usual with us to con- 
sider American society.” 

“ A descent from Washington, with a character and a 
social position to correspond, would not he absolutely vulgar, 
notwithstanding ! ” 

“ Nay, if you press me so hard, I must appeal to Miss Van 
Cortlandt for succor.” 

“ On this point you will find no support in that quarter. 
Miss Van Cortlandt has an historical name herself, and will 
not forego an honest pride, in order to relieve one of the 
hostile powers from a dilemma.” 

“ While I admit that time and merit must, in a certain 
sense, place families in America in the same situation with 
families in Europe, I cannot see that it is in eonformity with 
your institutions to lay the same stress on the circum- 
stance.^’ 

“ In that we are perfectly of a mind, as I think the 
American has much the best reason to be proud of his 
family,” said Eve, quietly. 

“You delight in paradoxes, apparently, this evening. Miss 
Effingham, for I now feel very certain you can hardly make 
out a plausible defence of this new position.” 

“ If I had my old ally, Mr. Powis, here,” said Eve, touch- 
ing the fender unconsciously with her little foot, and per- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


4:1 


ceptibly losing the animation and pleasantry of her voice, in 
tones that were gentler, if not melancholy, “ I should ask 
him to explain this matter to you, for ho was singularly 
ready in such replies. As he is absent, however, I will at- 
tempt the duty myself. In Europe, office, power, and conse- 
quently consideration, are all herditary ; whereas, in this 
country, they are not, but they depend on selection. Now, 
surely, one has more reason to be proud of ancestors who 
have been chosen to fill responsible stations, than of ances- 
tors who have filled them through the accidents, heureux 
ou malheureux, of birth. The only difference between Eng- 
land and America, as respects family, is that you add posi- 
tive rank to that to which we only give consideration. 
Sentiment is at the bottom of our nobility, and the great 
seal at the bottom of yours. And now, having established 
the fact that there are families in America, let us return 
whence we started, and inquire how far they have an in- 
fluence in every-day society.” 

“To ascertain which, we must apply to Miss Van Cort- 
landt.” 

“Much less than they ought, if my opinion is to be taken,” 
said Grace, laughing, “for the great inroad of strangers 
has completely deranged all the suitablenesses in that res- 
pect.” 

“ And yet, I dare say these very strangers do good,” re- 
joined Eve. “ Many of them must have been respectable 
in their native places, and ought to be an acquisition to a 
society that in its nature must be, Grace, tant soit peu^ 
provincial.” 

“ Oh ! ” cried Grace, “ I can tolerate anything but the 
Hajjis!” 

“The what?” asked Sir George, eagerly — “will you suf- 
fer me to ask an explanation. Miss Van Cortlandt?” 

“The Ilajjis,” repeated Grace, laughing, though she 
blushed to the eyes. 


48 


HOME AS FOUND. 


The baronet looked from one cousin to the other, and 
then turned an inquiring glance on Mademoiselle Viefviile. 
The latter gave a slight shrug, and seemed to ask an expla- 
nation of the young lady’s meaning herself. 

“ A Hajji is one of a class, Sir George Templemore,” Eve 
at length said, “ to which you and I have both the honor of 
belonging.” 

“ No, not Sir George Templemore,” interrupted Grace, 
with a precipitation that she instantly regretted ; “ he is not 
an American.” 

“Then I, alone, of all present, have that honor. It 
means the pilgrimage to Paris instead of Mecca ; and the 
pilgrim must be an American instead of a Mahommedan.” 

“ Nay, Eve, you are not a Hajji, neither.” 

“ Then there is some qualification with which I am not 
yet acquainted. Will you relieve our doubts, Grace, and 
let us know the precise character of the animal ?” 

“You stayed too long to be a Hajji — one must get ino- 
culated merely, not take the disease and become cured, to 
be a true Hajji.” 

“ I thank you. Miss Van Cortlandt, for this description,” 
returned Eve, in her quiet way. “ I hope, as I have gone 
through the malady, it has not left me pitted.” 

“I should like to see one of these Hajjis,” cried Sir 
George. “ Are they of both sexes ?” 

Grace laughed, and nodded her head. 

“ Will you point it out to me, should we be so fortunate 
as to encounter one this evening ? ” 

Again Grace laughed and nodded her head. 

“ I have been thinking, Grace,” said Eve, after a short 
pause, “ that we may give Sir George Templemore a better 
idea of the sets about which he is so curious, by doing what 
is no more than a duty of our own, and by letting him 
profit by the opportunity. Mrs. Hawker receives this 
evening without ceremony ; we have not yet sent our an- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


49 


swer to Mrs. Jarvis, and might very well look in upon her 
for half an hour, after which we shall be in very good sea- 
son for Mrs. Houston’s ball.” 

“Surely, Eve, you would not wish to take Sir George 
Templemore to such a house as that of Mrs. Jarvis ! ” 

“ 1 do not wish to take Sir George Templemore any- 
where, for your Hajjis have opinions of their own on such 
subjects. But as Cousin Jack will accompany us, he may 
very well confer that important favor. I dare say Mrs. 
Jarvis will not look upon it as too great a liberty.” 

“ I will answer for it, that nothing Mr. John EflBngham 
can do will be thought mal-d-propos by Mrs. Jared Jarvis. 
His position in society is too well established, and hers is 
too equivocal to leave any doubt on that head.” 

“ This, you perceive, settles the point of coteries^' said Eve 
to the baronet. “ Volumes might be written to establish 
principles ; but when one can do anything he or she pleases, 
anywhere that he or she likes, it is pretty safe to say that 
he or she is privileged.” 

“All very true as to the fact. Miss Effingham; but I 
should like exceedingly to know the reason.” 

“ Half the time such things are decided without a reason 
at all. You are a little exacting in requiring a reason in 
New York for that which is done in London without even 
the pretence of such a thing. It is sufficient that Mrs. 
Jarvis will be delighted to see you without an invitation, 
and that Mrs. Houston would at least think it odd were you 
to take the same liberty with her.” 

“ It follows,” said Sir George, smiling, “ that Mrs. Jarvis 
is much the more hospitable person of the two.” 

“ But, Eve, what is to be done with Captain Truck and 
Mr. Bragg ? ” asked Grace. “We cannot take them to Mrs. 
Hawker’s ? ” 

“ Aristabulus would, indeed, be a little out of place in 
such a house, but as for our excellent, brave, straight-for- 

4 


50 


HOME AS FOUND. 


ward old captain, he is worthy to go anywhere. I shall 
be delighted to present him to Mrs. Hawker myself.” 

After a little consultation between the ladies, it was 
settled that nothing should be said of the two first visits to 
Mr. Bragg, but that Mr. Effingham should be requested to 
bring him to the ball at the proper hour, and that the rest 
of the party should go quietly off to the other places with- 
out mentioning their projects. As soon as this was arranged, 
the ladies retired to dress. Sir George Templemore passing 
into the library to amuse himself with a book the while ; 
where, however, he was soon joined by John Effingham. 
Here the former revived the conversation on distinctions in 
society, with the confusion of thought that usually marks a 
European’s notions of such matters. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


51 


CHAPTER lY. 


« Ready.” 

“ And I.” 

“And I.” 

“ Where shall we go? ” 

Midstthmee-Night’s Deeam. 

Grace Van Cortlandt was the first to make her ap- 
pearance after the retreat from the drawing-room. It has 
often been said that pretty as the American females incon- 
testably are, as a whole they appear better in demi-toilette^ 
than when attired for a ball. With what would be termed 
high dress in other parts of the world, they are little ac- 
quainted ; but reversing the rule of Europe, where the 
married bestow the most care on their personal appearance, 
and the single are taught to observe a rigid simplicity, 
Grace now seemed sufficiently ornamented in the eyes of 
the fastidious baronet, while at the same time he thought 
her less obnoxious to the criticisms just mentioned, than 
most of her young countrywomen in general. 

An embonpoint that was just sufficient to distinguish her 
from most of her companions, a fine color, brilliant eyes, a 
sweet smile, rich hair, and such feet and hands as Sir George 
Templemore had somehow — he scarcely knew how himself 
— fancied could only belong to the daughters of peers and 
princes, rendered Grace so strikingly attractive this evening, 
that the young baronet began to think her even handsomer 
than her cousin. There was also a charm in the unsophisti- 
cated simplicity of Grace, that was particularly alluring to a 
man educated amidst the coldness and mannerism of the 
higher classes of England. In Grace, too, this simplicity 


52 


HOME AS FOUND. 


was chastened by perfect decorum and retenue of deport- 
ment ; the exuberance of the new school of manners not 
having helped to impair the dignity of her character, or to 
weaken the charm of diffidence. She was less finished in 
her manners than Eve, certainly ; a circumstance, perhaps, 
that induced Sir George Templemore to fancy her a shade 
more simple, but she was never unfeminine or unladylike ; 
and the term vulgar, in spite of all the capricious and arbi- 
trary rules of fashion, under no circumstance could ever be 
applied to Grace Van Cortlandt. In this respect nature 
seemed to have aided her ; for had not her associations 
raised her above such an imputation, no one could believe 
that she would be obnoxious to the charge, had her lot in 
life been cast even many degrees lower than it actually was. 

It is well known that after a sufficient similarity has been 
created by education to prevent any violent shocks to our 
habits or principles, we most affect those whose characters 
and dispositions the least resemble our own. This was pro- 
bably one of the reasons why Sir George Templemore, who 
for some time had been well assured of the hopelessness of 
his suit with Eve, began to regard her scarcely less lovely 
cousin with an interest of a novel and lively nature. Quick- 
sighted and deeply interested in Grace’s happiness. Miss 
Effingham had already detected this change in the young 
baronet’s inclinations, and though sincerely rejoiced on her 
own account, she did not observe it wdthout concern ; for she 
understood better than most of her countrywomen, the great 
hazards of destroying her peace of mind, that are incurred 
by transplanting an American woman into the more artifi- 
cial circles of the old world. 

“ I shall rely on your kind offices in particular. Miss Van 
Cortlandt, to reconcile Mrs. Jarvis and Mrs. Hawker to the 
liberty I am about to take,” cried Sir George, as Grace burst 
upon them in the library in a blaze of beauty that, in her 
case, was aided by her attire ; “ and cold-hearted and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


53 


unchristian-like women they must be, indeed, to resist such 
a mediator !” 

Grace was unaccustomed to adulation of this sort; for 
though the baronet spoke gaily, and like one half trifling, 
his look of admiration was too honest to escape the intuitive 
perception of woman. She blushed deeply, and then recover- 
ing herself instantly, said with a naivete that had a thousand 
charms with her listener — 

“ I do not see why Miss Effingham and myself should hesi- 
tate about introducing you at either place. Mrs. Hawker 
is a relative and an intimate — an intimate of mine, at least 
— and as for poor Mrs. Jarvis, she is the daughter of an old 
neighbor, and will be too glad to see us to raise objections. 

I fancy any one of a certain Grace hesitated and 

laughed. 

“Any one of a certain ?” said Sir George inquiringly. 

“Any one from this house,” resumed the young lady, 
correcting the intended expression, “will be welcome in 
Spring street.” 

“ Pure native aristocracy !” exclaimed the baronet, with 
an air of affected triumph. “ This, you see, Mr. John EflSng- 
ham, is in aid of my argument.” 

“ I am quite of your opinion,” returned the gentleman 
addressed ; “ as much native aristocracy as you please, but 
no hereditary.” 

Tlie entrance of Eve and Mademoiselle Yiefville interrupted 
this pleasantry, and the carriages being just then announced, 
John Effingham went in quest of Captain Truck, who was 
in the drawing-room with Mr. EflSngham and Aristabulus. 

“ I have left Ned to discuss trespass suits and leases with 
his land-agent,” said John Effingham, as he followed Eve to 
the street-door. “By ten o’clock they will have taxed a 
pretty bill of costs between them !” 

Mademoiselle Viefville followed John Eflfingham ; Grace 
came next, and Sir George Templemore and the Captain 


54 


HOME AS FOUND. 


brought up the rear. Grace wondered the young baronet 
did not offer her his arm, for she had been accustomed to 
receive this attention from the other sex in a hundred situa- 
tions in which it was rather an incumbrance than a service 5 
while, on the other hand. Sir George himself would have 
hesitated about offering such assistance, as an act of uncalled- 
for familiarity. 

Miss Van Cortlandt, being much in society, kept a chariot 
for her own use, and the three ladies took their seats in it, 
while the gentlemen took possession of Mr. Effingham’s 
coach. The order was given to drive to Spring street, and 
the whole party proceeded. 

The acquaintance between the Effinghams and Mr. Jarvis 
had arisen from the fact of their having been near, and, in 
a certain sense, sociable neighbors in the country. Their 
town associations, however, were as distinct as if they dwelt 
in different hemispheres, with the exception of an occasional 
morning call, and now and then a family dinner given by 
Mi*. Effingham. Such had been the nature of the intercourse 
previously to the family of the latter’s having gone abroad, 
and there were symptoms of its being renewed on the same 
quiet and friendly footing as formerly. But no two beings 
could be less alike, in certain essentials, than Mr. Jarvis and 
his wife. The former was a plain, pains-taking, sensible 
man of business, while the latter had an itching desire to 
figure in the world of fashion. The first was perfectly aware 
that Mr. Effingham, in education, habits, associations, and 
manners, was, at least, of a class entirely distinct from his 
own ; and without troubling himself to analyse causes, and 
without a feeling of envy or unkindness of any sort, while 
totally exempt from any undue deference or unmanly cring- 
ing, he quietly submitted to let things take their course. 
His wife expressed her surprise that any one in New York 
should presume to be better than themselves; and the 
remark gave rise to the following short conversation on the 


HOME AS FOUND. 


55 


very morning of the day she gave the party to which we 
are now conducting the reader. 

“ How do you know, my dear, that any one does think 
himself our better ? ” demanded the husband. 

“ Why do they not all visit us then ?” 

“ Why do you not visit everybody yourself ? A pretty 
household we should have, if you did nothing but visit every 
one who lives even in this street ! ” 

“ You surely would not have me visiting the grocers’ 
wives at the corners, and all the other rubbish of the neigh- 
borhood. What I mean is, that all the people of a certain 
sort ought to visit all the other people of a certain sort, in 
the same town.” 

“ You surely will make an exception, at least on account 
of numbers. I saw number three thousand six hundred 
and fifty this very day on a cart, and if the wives of 
all these carmen should visit one another, each would have 
to make ten visits daily in order to get through with the 
list in a twelvemonth.” 

“ I have always bad luck in making you comprehend 
these things, Mr. Jarvis.” 

“ I am afraid, my dear, it is because you do not very 
clearly comprehend them yourself. You first say that every- 
body ought to visit everybody, and then you insist on it you 
will visit none but those you think good enough to be visited 
by Mrs. Jared Jarvis.” 

“ What I mean is, that no one in New York has a right 
to think himself, or herself, better than ourselves.” 

“ Better ? — In what sense better ? ” 

“ In such a sense as to induce them to think themselves 
too good to visit us.” 

“ That may be your opinion, my dear, but others may 
judge differently. You clearly think yourself too good to 
visit Mrs. Onion, the grocer’s wife, who is a capital woman 
in her way ; and how do we know that certain people may 


56 


HOME AS FOUND. 


not fancy we are not quite refined enough for them ? Ke- 
finement is a positive thing, Mrs. Jarvis, and one that has 
much more influence on the pleasures of association than 
money. We may want a hundred little perfections that 
escape our ignorance, and which those who are trained to 
such matters deem essentials.” 

“ I never met with a man of so little social spirit, Mr. 
Jarvis ! Really, you are quite unsuited to he a citizen of a 
republican country.” 

“ Republican ! — I do not really see what republican has 
to do with the question. In the first place, it is a droll 
word for you to use, in this sense at least ; for, taking your 
own meaning of the term, you are as anti-republican as any 
woman I know. But a republic does not necessarily infer 
equality of condition, or even equality of rights — it meaning 
merely the substitution of the right of the commonwealth 
for the right of a prince. Had you said a democracy, there 
would have been some plausibility in using the word, though 
even then its application would have been illogical. If I 
am a freeman and a democrat, I hope I have the justice to 
allow others to be just as free and democratic as I am 
myself.” 

“ And who wishes the contrary ? All I ask is a claim to 
be considered a fit associate for anybody in this country — in 
these United States of America.” 

“ I would quit these United States of America next week, 
if I thought there existed any necessity for such an intole- 
rable state of things.” 

“ Mr. Jarvis ! — and you, too, one of the Committee of 
Tammany Hall !” 

“ Yes, Mrs. Jarvis, and I one of the Committee of Tam- 
many Hall! What! Do you think I want the three 
thousand six hundred and fifty carmen running in and out 
of my house, with their tobacco saliva and pipes, all day 
long ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


57 


“ Who is thinking of your carmen and grocers ! I speak 
now only of genteel people.” 

“ In other words, my dear, you are thinking only of 
those whom you fancy to have the advantage of you, and 
keep those who think of you in the same way, quite out of 
sight. This is not my democracy and freedom. I believe 
that it requires two people to make a bargain ; and although 
I may consent to dine with A ^ if A will not con- 

sent to dine with me, there is an end of the matter.” 

“ Now, you have come to a case in point. You often 
dined with Mr. Effingham before he went abroad, and yet 
you would never allow me to ask Mr. Effingham to dine 
with us. That is what I call meanness.” 

“ It might be so, indeed, if it were done to save my 
money. I dined with Mr. Effingham because I like him ; 
because he was an old neighbor ; because he asked me, and 
because I found a pleasure in the quiet elegance of his 
table and society ; and I did not ask him to dine with me, 
because I was satisfied he would be better pleased with such 
a tacit acknowledgment of his superiority in this respect, 
than by any bustling and ungraceful efforts to pay him in 
kind. Edward Effingham has dinners enough without 
keeping a debtor and credit account with his guests, which 
is rather too New Yorkish, even for me.” 

“ Bustling and ungraceful !” repeated Mrs. Jarvis, bit- 
terly ; “ I do not know that you are at all more bustling 
and ungraceful than Mr. Effingham himself.” 

“ No, my dear, I am a quiet, unpretending man, like the 
great majority of my countrymen, thank God.” 

“ Then why talk of these sorts of differences in a country 
in which the law establishes none ?” 

“ For precisely the reason that I talk of the river at the 
foot of this street, or because there is a river. A thing 
may exist without there being a law for it. There is no law 
for building this house, and yet it is built. There is no law 
3 * 


58 


HOME ASFOUND 


for making Dr. Verse a better preacher than Dr. Prolix, 
and yet he is a much better preacher ; neither is there any 
law for making Mr. Effingham a more finished gentleman 
than I happen to be, and yet I am not fool enough to 
deny the fact. In the way of making out a bill of 
parcels, I will not turn my back to him, I can promise 
you.” 

“ All this strikes me as being very spiritless, and as par- 
ticularly anti-republican,” said Mrs. Jarvis, rising to quit the 
room ; “ and if the Effinghams do not come this evening, I 
shall not enter their house this winter. I am sure they 
have no right to pretend to be our betters, and I feel no 
disposition to admit the impudent claim.” 

“ Before you go, Jane, let me say a parting word,” 
rejoined the husband, looking for his hat, “ which is just 
this. If you wish the world to believe you the equal of any 
one, no matter whom, do not be always talking about it, 
lest they see you distrust the fact yourself. A positive 
thing will surely be seen, and they who have the highest 
claims are the least disposed to be always pressing them on 
the attention of the world. An outrage may certainly be 
done those social rights which have been established by 
common consent, and then it may be proper to resent it 
but beware betraying a consciousness of your own infe- 
riority, by letting every one see you are jealous of your 
station. Now, kiss me ; here is the money to pay for your 
finery this evening, and let me see you as happy to receive 
Mrs. Jewett from Albion Place, as you would be to receive 
Mrs. Hawker herself.” 

“ Mrs. Hawker !” cried the wife, with a toss of her head, 
“ I would not cross the street to invite Mrs. Hawker, and all 
her clan,” which was very true, as Mrs. Jarvis was 
thoroughly convinced the trouble would be unavailing, the 
lady m question being as near the head of fashion in New 
York as it was possible to be in a town that, in a moral 


HOME AS FOUND. 


59 


sense, resembles an encampment, quite as much as it resem- 
bles a permanent and a long-existing capital. 

Notwithstanding a great deal of management on the part 
of Mrs. Jarvis to get showy personages to attend her enter- 
tainment, the simple elegance of the two carriages that 
bore the Effingham party, threw all the other equipages 
into the shade. The arrival, indeed, was deemed a matter 
of so much moment, that intelligence was conveyed to the 
lady, who was still at her post in the inner drawing-room, 
of the arrival of a party altogether superior to anything 
that had yet appeared in her rooms. It is true^ this was not 
expressed in words, but it was made sufficiently obvious by 
the breathless haste and the air of importance of Mrs. 
Jarvis’s sister, who had received the news from a servant, 
and who communicated it proprid persond to the mistress 
of the house. 

The simple, useful, graceful, almost indispensable usage 
of announcing at the door, indispensable to those who 
receive much, and where there is the risk of meeting people 
known to us by name and not in person, is but little prac- 
tised in America. Mrs. Jarvis would have shrunk from 
such an innovation, had she known that elsewhere the cus- 
tom prevailed, but she w'as in happy ignorance on this point, 
as on many others that were more essential to the much- 
coveted social eclat at which she aimed. When Mademoi- 
selle Viefv^ille appeared, therefore, walking unsupported, as 
if she were out of leading-strings, followed by Eve and 
Grace, and the gentlemen of their party, she at first sup- 
posed there was some mistake, and that her visitors had got 
into the wrong house, there being an opposition party in the 
neighborhood. 

“ What brazen people !” whispered Mrs. Abijah Gross, 
who having removed from an interior New England village, 
fully two years previously, fancied herself au fait of all the 
niceties of breeding and social tact. “ There are positively 


60 


home as found. 


two young ladies actually walking about without gentle- 
men !” 

But it was not in the power of Mrs. Abijah Gross, with 
her audible whisper and obvious sneer and laugh, to put 
down two such lovely creatures as Eve and her cousin. The 
simple elegance of their attire, the indescribable air of polish, 
particularly in the former, and the surpassing beauty and 
modesty of mien of both, effectually silenced criticism, after 
this solitary outbreaking of vulgarity. Mrs. Jarvis recog- 
nized Eve and John Effingham, and her hurried compli- 
ments and obvious delight proclaimed to all near her the 
importance she attached to their visit. Mademoiselle Vief- 
ville she had not recollected in her present dress, and even 
she was covered with expressions of delight and satisfac- 
tion. 

“ I wish particularly to present to you a friend that we 
all prize exceedingly,” said Eve, as soon as there was an 
opportunity of speaking. “ This is Captain Truck, the gen- 
tleman who commands the Montauk, the ship of which you 
have heard so much. Ah ! Mr. Jarvis,” offering a hand to 
him with sincere cordiality, for Eve had known him from 
childhood, and always sincerely respected him — “ you will 
receive my friend with a cordial welcome, I am certain.” 

She then explained to Mr. Jarvis who the honest captain 
was, when the former, first paying the proper respect to his 
other guests, led the old sailor aside, and began an earnest 
conversation on the subject of the recent passage. 

John Effingham presented the baronet, whom Mrs. Jarvis, 
out of pure ignorance of his rank in his own country, 
received with perfect propriety and self-respect. 

“We have very few people of note in town at present, I 
believe,” said Mrs. Jarvis to John Effingham. “A great 
traveller, a most interesting man, is the only person of that 
sort I could obtain for this evening, and I shall have great 
pleasure in introducing you. He is there in that crowd, for 


HOME AS FOUND. 


61 


he is in the greatest possible demand ; he has seen so much, 
— Mrs. Snow, with your permission — really the ladies are 
thronging about him as if he were a Pawnee, — have the 
goodness to step a little this way, Mr. Effingham — Miss 
Effingham — Mrs. Snow, just touch his arm and let him know 
I wdsh to introduce a couple of friends. — Mr. Dodge, Mr. 
John Effingham, Miss Effingham, Miss Van Cortlandt. I 
hope you may succeed in getting him a little to yourselves, 
•ladies, for he can tell you all about Europe — saw the king 
of France riding out to Nully, and has a prodigious know- 
ledge of things on the other side of the water.” 

It required a good deal of Eve’s habitual self-command 
to prevent a smile, but she had the tact and discretion to 
receive Steadfast as an utter stranger. John Effingham 
bowed as haughtily as man can bow, and then it was whis- 
pered that he and Mr. Dodge were rival travellers. The 
distance of the former, coupled with an expression of coun- 
tenance that did not invite familiarity, drove nearly all the 
company over to the side of Steadfast, who, it was soon 
settled, had seen much the most of the world, understood 
society the best, and had moreover travelled as far as Tim- 
buctoo in Africa. The clientele of Mr. Dodge increased 
rapidly, as these reports spread in the rooms, and those who 
had not read the “ delightful letters published, in the Active 
Inquirer,” furiously envied those who had enjoyed that high 
advantage. 

“ It is Mr. Dodge, the great traveller,” said one young 
lady, who had extricated herself from the crowd around the 
“ lion,” and taken a station near Eve and Grace, and who, 
moreover, was a “ blue ” in her own set ; “ his beautiful and 
accurate descriptions have attracted great attention in Eng- 
land, and it is said they have actually been republished !” 

“ Have you read them. Miss Brackett ?” 

“ Not the letters themselves absolutely ; but all the 
remarks on them in the last week’s Hebdomad. Most 


62 


HOME AS FOUND. 


delightful letters, judging from those remarks ; full of nature 
and point, and singularly accurate in all their facts. In this 
respect they are invaluable, travellers do fall into such 
extraordinary errors ! ” 

“I hope, ma’am,” said John Effingham, gravely, “that the 
gentleman has avoided the capital mistake of commenting 
on things that actually exist. Comments on its facts are 
generally esteemed by the people of a country, impertinent 
and unjust ; and your true way to succeed, is to treat as 
freely as possible its imaginary peculiarities.” 

Miss Brackett had nothing to answer to this observation, 
the Hebdomad having, among its other profundities, never 
seen proper to touch on the subject. She went on praising 
the “ Letters,” however, not one of which had she read, or 
would she read ; for this young lady had contrived to gain 
a high reputation in her own coterie for taste and knowledge 
in books, by merely skimming the strictures of those who 
do not even skim the works they pretend to analyse. 

Eve had never before been in so close contact with so 
much flippant ignorance, and she could not but wonder at 
seeing a man like her kinsman overlooked, in order that a 
man like Mr. Dodge should be preferred. All this gave 
John Effingham himself no concern, but retiring a little 
from the crowd, he entered into a short conversation with 
the young baronet. 

“ I should like to know your real opinions of this set,” 
he said ; “ not that I plead guilty to the childish sensibility 
that is so common in all provincial circles to the judgments 
of strangers, but with a view to aid you in forming a just 
estimate of the real state of the country.” 

“ As I know the precise connexion between you and our 
host, there can be no objection to giving a perfectly frank 
reply. The women strike me as being singularly delicate 
and pretty ; well dressed, too, I might add ; but while there 
is a great air of decency, there is very little high finish ; 


HOME AS FOUND. 


63 


and what strikes me as being quite odd, under such circum- 
stances, scarcely any downright vulgarity or coarseness.” 

“ A Daniel come to judgment I One who had passed a 
life here would not have come so near the truth, simply be- 
cause he Would not have observed peculiarities that require 
the means of comparison to be detected. You are a little 
too indulgent in saying there is no downright vulgarity ; for 
some there is ; though surprisingly little for the circum- 
stances. But of the coarseness that would be so prominent 
elsewhere, there is hardly any. True, so great is the equality 
in all things in this country, so direct the tendency to this 
respectable mediocrity, that what you now see here to-night 
may be seen in almost every village in the land, with a few 
immaterial exceptions m the way of furniture and other city 
appliances, and not much even in these.” 

“ Certainly, as a mediocrity this is respectable, though a 
fastidious taste might see a multitude of faults.” 

I should not say that the taste would be merely fasti- 
dious, for much is wanting that would add to the grace and 
beauty of society, while much that is wanting would be 
missed only by the over-sophisticated. Those young men 
who are sniggering over some bad joke in the corner for 
instance, are positively vulgar, as is that young lady who is 
indulging in practical coquetry ; but, on the whole, there is 
little of this ; and even our hostess, a silly woman, devoured 
with the desire of being what neither her social position, 
education, habits, nor notions fit her to be, is less obtrusive, 
bustling, and offensive, than a similar person elsewhere.” 

“ I am quite of your way of thinking, and intended to 
ask you to account for it.” 

“ The Americans are an imitative people, of necessity, and 
they are apt at this part of imitation in particular. Tlien 
they are less artificial in all their practices than older and 
more sophisticated nations ; and this company has got that 
essential part of good breeding, simplicity, as it were per- 


64 


HOME AS FOUND. 


force. A step higher in the social scale you will see less of 
it j for greater daring and bad models lead to blunders in 
matters that require to be exceedingly well done, if done at 
all. The faults here would be more apparent by an ap- 
proach near enough to get into the tone of mind, the forms 
of speech, and the attempts at wit.” 

“ Which I think we shall escape to-night, as I see the 
ladies are already making their apologies and taking leave. 
We must defer this investigation to another time.” 

“It may be indefinitely postponed, as it would scarcely 
reward the trouble of an inquiry.” 

The gentlemen now approached Mrs. Jarvis, paid their 
parting compliments, hunted up Captain Truck, whom they 
tore by violence from the good-natured hospitality of the 
master of the house, and then saw the ladies into their car- 
riage. As they drove olF, the worthy mariner protested 
that Mr. Jarvis was one of the honestest men he had ever 
met, and announced that he intended giving him a dinner 
on board the Montauk the very next day. 

The dwelling of Mrs. Hawker was in Hudson Square, or 
in a portion of the city that the lovers of the grandiose are 
endeavoring to call St. J ohn’s Park ; for it is rather an 
amusing peculiarity among a certain portion of the emi- 
grants who have flocked into the Middle States within the 
last thirty years, that they are not satisfied with permitting 
any family or thing to possess the name it originally enjoyed, 
if there exists the least opportunity to change it. There was 
but a carriage or two before the door, though the strong 
lights in the house showed that the company had collected. 

“ Mrs. Hawker is the widow and the daughter of men of 
long established New York families; she is childless, affluent, 
and universally respected where known for her breeding, 
benevolence, good sense, and heart,” said John Efflngham, 
while the party was driving from one house to the other. 
“ Were you to go into most of the sets of this town and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


65 


mention Mrs. Hawker’s name, not one person in ten would 
know that there is such a being in their vicinity; thejoe/e mele 
of a migratory population keeping persons of her character 
and condition of life quite out of view. The very persons 
who will prattle by the hour of the establishments of Mrs. 
Pel eg Pond, and Mrs. Jonah Twist, and Mrs. Abiram 
Wattles, people who first appeared on this island five or six 
years since, and who, having accumulated what to them are 
relatively large fortunes, have launched out into vulgar and 
uninstructed finery, would look with surprise at hearing 
Mrs. Hawker mentioned as one having any claims to social 
distinction. Her historical names are overshadowed in 
their minds by the parochial glories of certain local pro- 
digies in the townships whence they emigrated ; her man- 
ners would puzzle the comprehension of people whose 
imitation has not gone beyond the surface ; and her polished 
and simple mind would find little sympathy among a class 
who seldom rise above a common-place sentiment without 
getting upon stilts.” 

“Mrs. Hawker, then, is a lady,” observed Sir George 
Templemore. 

“ Mrs. Hawker is a lady in every sense of the word ; by 
position, education, manners, association, mind, fortune, and 
birth. I do not know that we ever had more of her class 
than exist to-day, but certainly we once had them more 
prominent in society.” 

“I suppose, sir,” said Captain Truck, “that this Mrs. 
Hawker is of what is called the old school ? ” 

“Of a very ancient school, and one that is likely to con- 
tinue, though it may not be generally attended.” 

“I am afraid, Mr. John Effingham, that I shall be like a 
fish out of water in such a house. I can get along very 
well with your Mrs. Jarvis, and with the dear young lady in 
the other carriage ; but the sort of woman you have de- 
scribed will be apt to jam a plain mariner like myself. 


66 


HOME AS FOUND. 


What in nature should I do, now, if she should ask me to 
dance a minuet ? ” 

“Dance it agreeably to the laws of nature,” returned 
John Effingham, as the carriage stopped. 

A respectable, quiet, and an aged black admitted the 
party, though even he did not announce the visitors, while 
he held the door of the drawing-room open for them with 
respectful attention. Mrs. Hawker arose and advanced to 
meet Eve and her companions, and though she kissed the 
cousins affectionately, her reception of Mademoiselle Viefville 
was so simply polite as to convince the latter she was valued 
on account of her services. John Effingham, who was ten or 
fifteen years the junior of the old lady, gallantly kissed her 
hand, when he presented his two male companions. After 
paying proper attention to the greatest stranger, Mrs. 
Hawker turned to Captain Truck and said — 

“ This, then, is the gentleman to whose skill and courage 
you all owe so much — we all owe so much, I might better 
have said — the commander of the Montauk ?” 

“ I have the honor of commanding that vessel, ma’am,” 
returned Captain Truck, who was singularly awed by the 
dignified simplicity of his hostess, although her quiet, 
natural, and yet finished manner, which extended even to 
the intonation of the voice and the smallest movement, were 
as unlike what he had expected as possible, “ and with such 
passengers as she had last voyage, I can only say it is a pity 
that she is not better off for one to take care of her.” 

“ Your passengers give a different account of the matter; 
but in order that I may judge impartially, do me the favor 
to take this chair, and let me learn a few of the particulars 
from yourself.” 

Observing that Sir George Templemore had followed Eve 
to the other side of the room, Mrs. Hawker now resumed 
her seat, and without neglecting any to attend to one in 
particular, or attending to one in any way to make him feel 


HOME AE FOUND. 


67 


oppressed, she contrived in a few minutes to make the cap- 
tain forget all about the minuet, and to feel much more at 
his ease than would have been the case with Mrs. Jarvis in 
a month’s intercourse. 

In the meantime Eve had crossed the room to join a lady 
whose smile invited her to her side. This was a young, 
slightly framed female, of a pleasing countenance, but who 
would not have been particularly distinguished in such a 
place for personal charms. Still her smile was sweet, her 
eyes were soft, and the expression of her face was what 
might almost be called illuminated. As Sir George Temple- 
more followed her. Eve mentioned his name to her acquaint- 
ance, whom she addressed as Mrs. Bloomfield. 

“ You are bent on perpetrating further gaiety to-night,” 
said the latter, glancing at the ball dresses of the two cousins. 
“ Are you in the colors of the Houston faction, or in those 
of the Peabody ?” 

“ Not in pea-green, certainly,” returned Eve, laughing, 
“ as you may see ; but in simple white.” 

“You intend then to be Med a measure’ at Mrs. Hous- 
ton’s. It were more suitable than among the other fac- 
tion.” 

“ Is fashion then faction in New York ?” inquired Sir 
George. 

“Fractions would be a better word, perhaps; but we 
have parties in almost everything in America — in politics, 
religion, temperance, speculations, and taste. Why not in 
fashion ?” 

“ I fear we are not quite independent enough to form 
parties on such a subject,” said Eve. 

“ Perfectly well said. Miss Effingham. One must think 
a little originally, let it be ever so falsely, in order to get up 
a fashion. I fear we shall have to admit our insignificance 
on this point. You are a late arrival. Sir George Temple- 
more ?” 


68 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ As lately as the commencement of this month. I had 
the honor of being a fellow-passenger with Mr. Effingham 
and his family.” 

“ In which voyage you suffered shipwreck, captivity, and 
famine, if half we hear be true.” 

“ Report has a little magnified our risks. We encoun- 
tered some serious dangers, but nothing amounting to the 
sufferings you have mentioned.” 

“ Being a married woman, and having reached the crisis 
in which deception is not practised, I expect to hear truth 
again,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, smiling. “I trust, however, 
you underwent enough to qualify you all for heroes and 
heroines, and shall content myself with knowing that you 
are here, safe and happy,” if, she added, looking inquiringly 
at Eve, “ one who has been educated abroad, can be happy 
at home.” 

“ One educated abroad, may be happy at home, though 
possibly not in the modes most practised by the world,” said 
Eve, firmly. 

“Without an opera, without a court, almost without 
society !” 

“ Am opera would be desirable, I confess. Of courts I 
know nothing, unmarried females being cyphers in Eu- 
rope, and I hope better things than to think I shall be with- 
out society.” 

“ Unmarried females are considered cyphers too, here, 
provided there be enough of them with a good respectable 
digit at their head. I assure you no one quarrels with the 
cyphers under such circumstances. I think. Sir George 
Templemore, a town like this must be something of a para- 
dox to you.” 

“ Might I venture to inquire the reason for this opinion !” 

“ Merely because it is neither one thing nor another. Not 
a capital, nor yet merely a provincial place, with something 
more than commerce in its bosom, and yet with that some- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


69 


thing hidden under a bushel. A good deal more than Li- 
verpool, and a good deal less than London. Better even 
than Edinburgh in many respects, and worse than Wapping 
in others.” 

“You have been abroad, Mrs. Bloomfield ?” 

“ Not a foot out of my own country ; scarcely a foot out of 
my own state. I have been at Lake George, the Falls, and 
the Mountain House, and as one does not travel in a balloon, 

I saw some of the intermediate places. As for all else, I am 
obliged to go by report.” 

“ It is a pity Mrs. Bloomfield was not with us this even- 
ing at Mrs. Jarvis’s,” said Eve, laughing. “ She might then 
have increased her knowledge by listening to a few cantos 
from the epic of Mr. Dodge.” 

“ I have glanced at some of that author’s wisdom,” 
returned Mrs. Bloomfield, “ but I soon found it was learning 
backwards. There is a never-failing rule by which it is / 
easy to arrive at a traveller’s worth, in a negative sense at 
least.” 

“ That is a rule which may be worth knowing,” said the 
baronet, “ as it would save much useless wear of the eyes.” 

“When one betrays a profound ignorance of his' own 
country, it is a fair presumption that he cannot be very 
acute in his observation of strangers. Mr. Dodge is one of 
these writers, and a single letter fully satisfied my curi- 
osity. I fear, Miss Effingham, very inferior wares in the 
way of manners have been lately imported in large quanti- 
ties into this country, as having the Tower mark on them.” 

Eve laughed, but declared that Sir George Templemore 
was better qualified than herself to answer such a question. 

“We are said to be a people of facts, rather than a people 
of theories,” continued Mrs. Bloomfield, without attending 
to the reference of the young lady, “ and any coin that 
offers, passes until another that is better arrives. It is a 
singular but a very general mistake, I believe, of the people 


70 


home as found. 


of this country, in supposing that they can exist under the 
present regime, when others would fail, because their 
opinions keep even pace with, or precede the actual condi- 
tion of society ; whereas those who have thought and 
observed most on such subjects, agree in thinking the very 
reverse of the case.” 

“ This would be a curious condition for a government so 
purely conventional,” observed Sir George with interest, “ and 
it certainly is entirely opposed to the state of things all over 
Europe.” 

“ It is so, and yet there is no great mystery in it after all. 
Accident has liberated us from trammels that still fetter 
you. We are like a vehicle on the top of a hill, which 
the moment it is pushed beyond the point of resistance, 
rolls down of itself, without the aid of horses. One may 
follow with the team and hook on when it gets to the bot- 
tom, but there is no such thing as keeping company with it 
until it arrives there.” . 

“You will allow, then, that there is a bottom ?” 

“ There is a bottom to everything — to good and bad ; 
happiness and misery ; hope, fear, faith, and charity ; even 
to a woman’s mind, which I have sometimes fancied the 
most bottomless thing in nature. There may, therefore, 
well be a bottom even to the institutions of America.” 

Sir George listened with the interest with which an 
Englishman of his class always endeavors to catch a con- 
cession that he fancies is about to favor his own political 
predilections, and he felt encouraged to push the subject 
further. 

“ And you think that the political machine is rolling down- 
wards towards this bottom ?” he said, with an interest in the 
answer that, living in the quiet and forgetfulness of his own 
home, he would have laughed at himself for entertaining. 
But our sensibilities become quickened by collision, and 
opposition is known even to create love. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


71 


Mrs. Bloomfield was quick-witted, intelligent, cultivated, 
and shrewd. She saw the motive at a glance, and, notwith- 
standing she saw and felt all its abuses, strongly attached to 
the governing principle of her country’s social organization, 
as is almost universally the case with the strongest minds and 
most generous hearts of the nation, she was not disposed to 
let a stranger carry away a false impression of her senti- 
ments on such a point. 

“Did you ever study logic. Sir George Templemore?” 
she asked, archly. 

“A little, though not enough I fear to influence my 
mode of reasoning, or even to leave me familiar with the 
terms.” 

“ Oh ! I am not about to assail you with sequiturs and 
non sequiturSy dialectics and all the mysteries of Denh-Lehrey 
but simply to remind you there is such a thing as the bottom 
of a subject. When I tell you we are flying towards the 
bottom of our institutions, it is in the intellectual sense, and 
not, as you have erroneously imagined, in an unintellectual 
sense. I mean that we are getting to understand them, 
which I fear we did not absolutely do at the commencement 
of the ‘experiment.’” 

“ But I think you will admit, that as the civilization of 
the country advances, some material changes must occur ; 
your people cannot always remain stationary ; they must 
either go backwards or forward.” 

“ Up or down, if you will allow me to correct your phra- 
seology. The civilization of the country, in one sense at 
least, is retrogressive, and the people, as they cannot ‘go 
up,’ betray a disposition to go ‘ down.’ ” 

“You deal in enigmas, and I am afraid to think I under- 
stand you.” 

“ I mean, merely, that gallows are fast disappearing, and 
that the people — le peupUy you will understand — begin to 
accept money. In both particulars, I think there is a 


*72 homeasfound. 

sensible change for the worse, within my own recollec- 
tion.” 

Mrs. Bloomfield then changed her manner, and from 
using that light-hearted gaiety with whick she often rendered 
her conversation piquantej and even occasionally brilliant, 
she became more grave and explicit. The subject soon 
turned to that of punishments, and few men could have 
reasoned more sensibly, justly, or forcibly, on such a subject, 
than this slight and fragile-looking young woman. Without 
the least pedantry, with a beauty of language that the other 
sex seldom attains, and with a delicacy of discrimination, 
and a sentiment that were strictly feminine, she rendered a 
theme interesting, that, however important in itself, is for- 
bidding, veiling all its odious and revolting features in the 
refinement and finesse of her own polished mind. 

Eve could have listened all night, and, at every syllable 
that fell from the lips of her friend, she felt a glow of 
triumph ; for she was proud of letting an intelligent for- 
eigner see that America did contain women worthy to be 
ranked with the best of other countries — a circumstance that 
they who merely frequented what is called the world, she 
thought might be reasonably justified in distrusting. In one 
respect, she even fancied Mrs. Bloomfield’s knowledge and 
cleverness superior to those which she had so often admired 
in her own sex abroad. It was untrammelled, equally by 
the prejudices incident to a fictitious condition of society, or 
by their reaction ; two circumstances that often obscured the 
sense and candor of those to whom she had so often listened 
with pleasure in other countries. The singularly feminine 
tone, too, of all that Mrs. Bloomfield said or thought, while 
it lacked nothing in strength, added to the charm of her 
conversation, and increased the pleasure of those that 
listened. 

“ Is the circle large to which Mrs. Hawker and her friends 
belong ?” asked Sir George, as he assisted Eve and Grace to 


HOME AS FOUND. 


13 


cloak, when they had taken leave. “ A town which can 
boast of half-a-dozen such houses need not accuse itself of 
wanting society.” 

“Ah! there is but one Mrs. Hawker in New York,” an- 
swered Grace, “ and not many Mrs. Bloomfields in the world. 
It would be too much to say, we have even half-a-dozen such 
houses.” 

“ Have you not been struck with th« admirable tone of 
this drawing-room ?” half-whispered Eve. “ It may want a 
little of that lofty ease that one sees among the better 
portion of the old Princesses et Duchesses^ which is a relic 
of a school that it is to be feared is going out ; but in its 
place there is a winning nature, with as much dignity as is 
necessary, and a truth that gives us confidence in the sin- 
cerity of those around us.” 

“ Upon my word, I think Mrs. Hawker quite fit for a 
Duchess.” 

“You mean a Duchesse" said Eve, “and yet she is with- 
out the manner that we understand by such a word. Mrs. 
Hawker is a lady, and there can be no higher term.” 

“ She is a delightful old woman,” cried John Effingham, 
“ and if twenty years younger and disposed to change h<"r 
condition, I should really be afraid to enter the house.” 

“ My dear sir,” put in the captain, “ I will make her Mrs. 
Truck to-morrow, and say nothing of years, if she could be 
content to take up with such an offer. Why, Sir, she is no 
woman, but a saint in petticoats ! I felt the whole time as 
if talking to my own mother, and as for ships, she knows 
' more about them than I do !” 

The whole party laughed at the strength of the captain’s 
admiration, and getting into carriages proceeded to the last 
of the houses they intended visiting that night. 


4 


74 


HOME AS found 


CHAPTER y. 

“So tunis she every man the wrong side out; 

And never gives to truth and virtue, that 
Which simpleness and merit purchaseth.” 

Much Ado about Nothino. 

Mrs. Houston was what is termed a fashionable woman 
in New York. She, too, was of a family of local note, 
though of one much less elevated in the olden time than 
that of Mrs. Hawker. Still her claims were admitted by the 
most fastidious on such points, for a few do remain who 
think descent indispensable to gentility ; and as her means 
were ample and her tastes perhaps superior to those of most 
around her, she kept what was thought a house of better 
tone than common even in the highest circle. Eve had but 
a slight acquaintance with her ; but in Grace’s eyes, Mrs. 
Houston’s was the place of all others that she thought 
might make a favorable impression on her cousin. Her 
wish that this should prove to be the case was so strong, 
that, as they drove towards the door, she could not forbear 
from making an attempt to prepare Eve for w’^hat she was to 
meet. 

“ Although Mrs. Houston has a very large house for 
New York, and lives in a uniform style, you are not to ex- 
pect antechambers and vast suites of rooms. Eve,” said 
Grace ; “ such as you have been accustomed to see abroad.” 

“ It is not necessary, my dear cousin, to enter a house of 
four or five windows in front, to see it is not a house of • 
twenty or thirty. I should be very unreasonable to expect 
an Italian palazzo or a Parisian hotel in this good town.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


75 


“ We are not old enough for that yet, Eve ; a hundred 
years hence, Mademoiselle Viefville, such things may exist 
here.” 

“ Bien sur. C’est naturel.” 

“ A hundred years hence, as the world tends, Grace, they 
are not likely to exist anywhere, except as taverns, or hos- 
pitals, or manufactories. But what have we to do, coz., 
with a century ahead of us ? Young as we both are, we can- 
not hope to live that time.” 

Grace would have been puzzled to account satisfactorily 
to herself for the strong desire she felt that neither of her 
companions should expect to see such a house as their 
senses so plainly told them did not exist in the place ; but 
her foot moved in the bottom of the carriage, for she was 
not half satisfied with her cousin’s answer. 

“ All I mean. Eve,” she said, after a pause, “ is, that one 
ought not to expect, in a town as new as this, the improve- 
ments that one sees in an older state of society.” 

“ And have Mademoiselle Viefville or I ever been so 
weak as to suppose that New York is Paris, or Rome, or 
Vienna ?” 

Grace was still less satisfied, for, unknown to herself, she 
had hoped that Mrs. Houston’s ball might be quite equal to 
a ball in either of those ancient capitals ; and she was now 
vexed that her cousin considered it so much a matter of 
course that it should not be. But there was no time for 
explanations, as the carriage now stopped. 

The noise, confusion, calling out, swearing, and rude cla- 
mor before the house of Mrs. Houston, said little for the 
out-door part of the arrangements. Coachmen are no- 
where a particularly silent and civil class ; but the uncouth 
European peasants who have been preferred to the honors 
of the whip in New York, to the usual feelings of competi- 
tion and contention, added that particular feature of humi- 
lity which is known to distinguish “ the •beggar on horse- 


76 


home as found. 


back.” The imposing equipages of our party, however, 
had that effect on most of these rude brawlers, which a dis- 
play of wealth is known to produce on the vulgar-minded ; 
and the ladies got into the house through a lane of coach- 
men, by yielding a little to a chevaux de frise of whips, 
without any serious calamity. 

“One hardly knows which is the most terrific,” said 
Eve, involuntarily, as soon as the door closed on them — 
“ the noise within or the noise without !” 

This was spoken rapidly, and in French, to Mademoiselle 
Viefville, but Grace heard and understood it, and for the first 
time in her life she perceived that Mrs. Houston’s company 
was not composed of nightingales, '^^e surprise is, that the 
discovery should have come so late. 

“ I am delighted at having got into this house,” said Sir 
George, who, having thrown his cloak to his own servant, 
stood with the two other gentlemen waiting the descent of 
the ladies from the upper room, where the bad arrange- 
ments of the house compelled them to uncloak and to put 
aside their shawls, “ as I am told it is the best house in town 
to see the other sex.” 

“ To hear them, would be nearer the truth, perhaps,” 
returned John EflSngham. “ As for pretty women, one can 
hardly go amiss in New York ; and your ears now tell you 
that they do not come into the world to be seen only.” 

The baronet smiled, but he was too well bred to contra- 
dict or to assent. Mademoiselle Viefville, unconscious that 
she was violating the proprieties, walked into the rooms by 
herself as soon as she descended, followed by Eve, but 
Grace shrank to the side of John Effingham, whose arm she 
took as a step necessary even to decorum. 

Mrs. Houston received her guests with ease and dignity. 
She was one of those females that the American world calls 
gay ; in other words, she opened her own house to a very 
promiscuous society, ten or a dozen times in a winter, and 


t 


HOME AS FOUND. 


11 


accepted the greater part of the invitations she got to other 
people’s. Still, in most other countries, as a fashionable 
woman, she would have been esteemed a model of devotion 
to the duties of a wife and a mother, for she paid a personal 
attention to her household, and had actually taught all her 
children the Lord’s prayer, the creed, and the ten command- 
ments. She attended church twice every Sunday, and only 
stayed at home from the evening lectures that the domestics 
might have the opportunity of going (which, by the way, 
they never did) in her stead. Feminine, well mannered, 
rich, pretty, of a very positive social condition, and natu- 
rally kind-hearted and disposed to sociability, Mrs. Houston, 
supported by an indulgent husband, who so much loved to 
see people with the appearance of happiness, that he was 
not particular as to the means, had found no difficulty 
in rising to the pinnacle of fashion, and of having her name 
in the mouths of all those who find it necessary to talk of 
somebodies, in order that they may seem to be somebodies 
themselves. All this contributed to Mrs. Houston’s happi- 
ness, or she fancied it did ; and as every passion is known 
to increase by indulgence, she had insensibly gone on in h»jr 
much-envied career, until, as has just been said, she reached 
the summit. 

“ These rooms are very crowded,” said Sir George, glanc- 
ing his eyes around two very pretty little narrow drawing- 
rooms that were beautifully, not to say richly furnished ; 
“ one wonders that the same contracted style of building 
should be so very general in a town that increases as 
rapidly as this, and where fashion has no fixed abode, and 
land is so abundant.” 

“ Mrs. Bloomfield would tell you,” said Eve, “ that these 
houses are types of the social state of the country, in 
which no one is permitted to occupy more than his share 
of ground.” 

“ But there are reasonably large dwellings in the place. 


78 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Mrs. Hawker has a good house, and your father’s, for in- 
stance, would be thought so too, in London even ; and yet 
I fancy you will agree with me in thinking that a good 
room is almost unknown in New York.” 

“ I do agree with you in this particular, certainly ; for 
to meet with a good room one must go into the houses 
built thirty years ago. We have inherited these snuggeries, 
however, England not having much to boast of in the way 
of houses.” 

“ In the way of town residences I agree with you 
entirely, as a whole, though we have some capital excep- 
tions. Still I do not think we are quite as compact as this ; 
do you not fancy the noise increased in consequence of its 
being so confined ?” 

Eve laughed, and shook her head quite positively. 

“ What W’ould it be *if fairly let out !” she said. “ But 
we will not waste the precious moments, but turn our eyes 
about us in quest of the belles. Grace, you who are so 
much at home, must be our Cicerone, and tell us which are 
the idols we are to worship.” 

“Dites moi premierement ; que veut dire une belle a 
New York ?” demanded Mademoiselle Viefville. “ Apparem- 
ment, tout le monde est joli.” 

“A helle^ Mademoiselle,” returned John Effingham, “is> 
not necessarily beautiful, the qualifications for the character 
being various and a little contradictory. One may be a 
belle by means of money, a tongue, an eye, a foot, teeth, a 
laugh, or any other separate feature or grace ; though no 
woman was ever yet a helle^ I believe, by means of the head, 
considered collectively. But why deal in description when 
the thing itself confronts us? The young lady standing 
directly before. us is. a belle of the most approved stamp and 
silvery tone. Is it not Miss Ring, Grace ?” 

The answer was in the affirmative, and the eyes of the 
whole party turned towards the subject of this remark. The 


HOME AS FOUND. 


*79 


young lady in question was about twenty, rather tall for an 
American woman, not conspicuously handsome, but like 
most around her of delicate features and frame, and with 
such a physique as, under proper training, would have 
rendered her the beau-ideal of feminine delicacy and gentle- 
ness. She had natural spirit, likewise, as appeared in her 
clear blue eye, and moreover she had the spirit to be a helle. 

Around, this young creature w^ere clustered no less than 
five young men, dressed in the height of the fashion, all of 
whom seemed to be entranced with the words that fell from 
her lips, and each of whom appeared anxious to say some- 
thing clever in return. They all laughed, the lady most, 
and sometimes all spoke at once. Notwithstanding these 
outbreakings. Miss Ring did most of the talking, and once 
or twice as a young man would gape after a most exhilarat- 
ing show of merriment, and discover an inclination to retreat, 
she managed to recall him to his allegiance by some remark 
particularly pertinent to himself or his feelings. 

“ Qui est cette dame ?” asked Mademoiselle Viefville, very 
much as one would put a similar question on seeing a man 
enter a church during service with his hat on. 

“ Elle est demoiselle,” returned Eve. 

“ Quelle horreur !” 

“ Nay, nay. Mademoiselle, I shall not allow you to set up 
France as immaculate on this point, neither,” said John 
Effingham, looking at the last speaker with an affected 
fi'own: “a young lady may have a tongue, and she may 
even speak to a young gentleman, and not be guilty of 
felony ; although I will admit that five tongues are unneces- 
sary, and that five listeners are more than sufficient for the 
wisdom of twenty in petticoats.” 

“ C’est une horreur !” 

“ I dare say Miss Ring would think it a greater horror to 
be obliged to pass an evening in a row of girls, unspoken to, 
except to be asked to dance, and admired only in the dis- 


80 


home as found. 


tance. But let us take seats on that sofa, and then we may 
go beyond the pantomime and become partakers in the 
sentiment of the scene.” 

Grace and Eve were now led off to dance, and the others 
did as John Effingham had suggested. In the eyes of the 
belle and her admirers they who had passed thirty were of 
no account, and our listeners succeeded in establishing 
themselves quietly within ear-shot — this was almost at 
duelling distance, too, — without at all interrupting the 
regular action of the piece. We extract a little of the 
dialogue by way of giving a more dramatic representation 
of the scene. 

“Do you think the youngest Miss Danvers beautiful?” 
asked the belle, while her eye wandered in quest of a sixth 
gentleman to “ entertain,” as the phrase is. “ In my opinion, 
she is absolutely the prettiest female in Mrs. Houston’s rooms 
this night.” 

The young men, one and all, protested against this judg- 
ment, and with perfect truth, for Miss Ring was too original 
to point out charms that every one could see. 

“ They say it will not be a match between her and Mr. 
Egbert, after everybody has supposed it settled so long. 
Wliat is your opinion, Mr. Edson ?” 

This timely question prevented Mr. Edson’s retreat, for 
he had actually got so far in this important evolution as to 
have gaped and turned his back. Recalled, as it were by 
the sound of the bugle, Mr. Edson w^as compelled to say 
something, a sore affiiction to him always. 

“ Oh ! I’m quite of your way of thinking ; they have cer- 
tainly courted too long to think of marrying.” 

“ I detest long courtships ; they must be perfect antidotes 
to love ; are they not, Mr. Moreland ?” 

A truant glance of Mr. Moreland’s eye was rebuked by 
this appeal, and- instead of looking for a place of refuge he 
now merely looked sheepish. He, however, entirely agreed 


HOME AS FOUND. 


81 


with the young lady, as the surer way of getting out of the 
difficulty. 

“ Pray, Mr. Summerfield, how do you like the last Hajji 
— Miss Eve Effingham ? To my notion, she is prettyish, 
though by no means as well as her cousin. Miss Van Cort- 
landt, who is really rather good looking.” 

As Eve and Grace were the two most truly lovely young 
women in the rooms, this opinion, as well as the loud tone 
in which it was given, startled Mademoiselle Viefville quite 
as much as the subjects that the helU had selected for dis- 
cussion. She would have moved, as listening to a conversa- 
tion that was not meant for their ears ; but John Effing- 
ham quietly assured her that Miss Ring seldom spoke in 
company without intending as many persons as possible to 
hear her. 

“ Miss Effingham is very plainly dressed for an only daugh- 
ter,” continued the young lady, “ though that lace of her 
cousin’s is real point ! I’ll engage it cost every cent of ten 
dollars a yard ! They are both engaged to be married, I 
hear.” 

“ Ciel !” exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville. 

“Oh ! that is nothing,” observed John Effingham, coolly. 
“Wait a moment, and you’ll hear that they have been 
privately married these six months, if, indeed, you hear no 
more.” 

“ Of course this is but an idle tale ?” said Sir George 
Templemore, with a concern which, in despite of his good 
breeding, compelled him to put a question that, under 
other circumstances, would scarcely have been permissible. 

“ As true as the gospel. But listen to the bell, it is ring- 
ing for the good of the whole parish.” 

“ The affair between Miss Effingham and Mr. Morpeth, 
who knew her abroad, I understand is entirely broken off j 
some say the father objected to Mr. Morpeth’s want of for- 
tune ; others that the lady was fickle, while some accuse 
4 ^ 


82 


home as found. 


the gentleman .of the same vice. Don’t you think it shock- 
ing to jilt, in either sex, Mr. Mosely ?” 

The retiring Mr. Mosely vras drawn again within the circle, 
and was obliged to confess that he thought it was very 
shocking, in either sex, to jilt. 

“ If I were a man,” continued the belle, “ I would never 
think of a young woman who had once jilted a lover. To 
my mind, it bespeaks a bad heart, and a woman with a bad 
heart cannot make a very amiable wife.” 

“ What an exceedingly clever creature she is,” whispered 
Mr. Mosely to Mr. Moreland, and he now made up his mind 
to remain and be “ entertained ” some time longer. 

“ I think poor Mr. Morpeth greatly to be pitied ; for no 
man would be so silly as to be attentive seriously to a lady 
without encouragement. Encouragement is the ne plus 
ultra of courtship; are you not of my opinion, Mr. W’’al- 
worth ?”■ 

Mr. Walworth was number five of the entertainees, and 
he did understand Latin, of which the young lady, though 
fond of using scraps, knew literally nothing. He smiled an 
assent, therefore, and the belle felicitated herself in having 
“ entertained ” him effectually ; nor was she mistaken. 

“ Indeed, they say Miss Efiingham had several affairs of 
the heart while in Europe, but it seems she was unfortunate 
in them all.” 

“Mais, ceci est trop fort! Je ne penx plus ecouter.” 

“ My dear Mademoiselle, compose yourself. The crisis is 
not yet arrived, by any means. 

“ I understand she still corresponds with a German Baron 
and an Italian Marquis, though both engagements are abso- 
lutely broken off. Some people say she walks into company 
alone, unsupported by any gentleman, by way of announcing 
a firm determination to remain single for life.” 

A common exclamation from the young men proclaimed 
their disapprobation ; and that night three of them actually 


HOME AS FOUND. 


83 


repeated the thing, as a well established tinith, and two 
of the three, failing of something better to talk about, 
also announced that Eve was actually engaged to be 
married. 

“There is something excessively indelicate in a young 
lady’s moving about a room without having a gentleman’s 
arm to lean on ! I always feel as if such a person was out 
of her place, and ought to be in the kitchen.” 

“ But, Miss Ring, what well-bred person does it ?” sput- 
tered Mr. Moreland. “No one ever heard of such a thing 
in good society. ’Tis quite shocking ! Altogether unpre- 
cedented.” 

“ It strikes me as being excessively coarse !” 

“ Oh ! manifestly ; quite rustic !” exclaimed Mr. Edson. 

“What can possibly be more vulgar!” added Mr. Wal- 
w'orth. 

“ I never heard of such a thing among the right sort !” 
said Mr. Mosely. 

“ A young lady who can be so brazen as to come into a 
room without a gentleman’s arm to lean on, is, in my judg- 
ment at least, but indifferently educated, Hajji or no Hajji. 
Mr. Edson, have you ever felt the tender passion ? I know 
you have been desperately in love once, at least ; do describe 
to me some of the symptoms, in order that I may know 
when I am seriously attacked myself by the disease.” 

“ Mais, ceci est ridicule ! L’enfant s’est sauvee du Chareu- 
ton de New York.” 

“ From the nursery rather. Mademoiselle ; you perceive 
she does not yet know how to walk alone.” 

Mr. Edson now protested that he was too stupid to feel 
a passion as intellectual as love, and that he was afraid 
he was destined by nature to remain as insensible as a 
block. 

“One never knows, Mr. Edson,” said the young lady 
^encouragingly. “ Several of my acquaintances, who thought 


84 


HOME AS FOUND. 


themselves quite safe, have been seized suddenly, and, though 
none have actually died, more than one has been roughly 
treated, I assure you.” 

Here the young men, one and all, protested that she was 
excessively clever. Then succeeded a pause, for Miss Ring 
was inviting, with her eyes, a number six to join the circle, 
her ambition being dissatisfied with five entertainees, as she 
saw that Miss Trumpet, a rival belle, had managed to get 
exactly that number also, in the other room. All the 
gentlemen availed themselves of the cessation in wit to gape, 
and Mr. Edson took the occasion to remark to Mr. Summer- 
field that he understood “ lots had been sold in seven hun- 
dredth street that morning as high as two hundred dollars 
a lot.” ■ 

The quadrille now ended, and Eve returned towards her 
friends. As she approached, the whole party compared her 
quiet, simple, feminine, and yet dignified air, with the rest- 
less, beau-catching, and worldly look of the belle, and won- 
dered by what law of nature, or of fashion, the one could 
possibly become the subject of the other’s comments. Eve 
never appeared better than on that evening. Her dress had 
all the accuracy and finish of a Parisian toilette, being 
equally removed from exaggeration and neglect ; and it was 
worn with the ease of one accustomed to be elegantly attired, 
and yet never decked with finery. Her step even was that 
of a lady, having neither the mincing tread of a Paris gri- 
sette, a manner that sometimes ascends even to the hourgeoise^ 
the march of a cockney ess, nor the tiptoe swing of a belle ; 
but it was the natural though regulated step of a trained 
and delicate woman. Walk alone she could certainly, and 
always did, except on those occasions of ceremony that 
demanded a partner. Her countenance, across which an 
unworthy thought had never left a trace, was an index, too, 
to the purity, high principles, and womanly self-respect that 
controlled all her acts, and, in these particulars, was the very 


4 

4 


HOME AS FOUND. 


85 


reverse of the feverish, half-hoydenish, half-affected expres- 
sion of that of Miss Ring. 

“They may say what they please,” muttered Captain 
Truck, who had been a silent but wondering listener of all 
that passed ; “ she is worth as many of them as could be 
stowed in the Montauk’s lower hold.” 

Miss Ring perceiving Eve approach, was desirous of say- 
ing something to her, for there was an eclat about a Hajji, 
after all, that rendered an acquaintance or even an intimacy 
desirable, and she smiled and curtsied. Eve returned the 
salutation, but as she did not care to approach a group of 
six, of which no less than five were men, she continued to 
move towards her own party. This reserve compelled Miss 
Ring to advance a step or two, when Eve was obliged to 
stop. Curtsying to her partner, she- thanked him for his 
attention, relinquished his arm, and turned to meetdhe lady. 
At the same instant the five “ entertainees” escaped in a 
body, equally rejoiced at their release, and proud of their 
captivity. 

“ I have been dying to come and speak to you. Miss' 
Effingham,” commenced Miss Ring, “ but these five giants 
(she emphasized the word we have put in italics) so beset 
me, that escape was quite impossible. There ought to be a 
law that but one gentleman should speak to a lady at a time.” 

“ I thought there was such a law already,” said Eve, 
quietly. 

“You mean in good breeding; but no one thinks of those 
antiquated laws nowadays. Are you beginning to be recon- 
ciled a little to your own country ?” 

“ It is not easy to effect a reconciliation where there 
has been no misunderstanding. I hope I have never quar- 
Telled with my country, or my country with me.” 

“ Oh ! it is not exactly that I mean. Cannot one need a 
reconciliation without a quarrel ? What do you say to this, 
Mr. Edson ?” 


86 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Miss King having detected some symptoms of desertion 
in the gentleman addressed, had thrown in this question by 
way of recal ; when, turning to note its effect, she perceived 
that all of her clientelle had escaped. A look of surprise 
and mortification and vexation it was not in her power to 
suppress, and then came one of horror. 

“ How conspicuous we have made ourselves, and it is all 
my fault !” she said, for the first time that evening permit- 
ting her voice to fall to a becoming tone. “ Why, here we 
actually are, two ladies conversing together, and no gentle- 
man near us ! ” 

“ Is that being conspicuous ? ” asked Eve, with a simplicity 
that was entirely natural. 

“ I am sure, Miss Effingham, one who has seen as much 
of society as you, can scarcely ask that question seriously. 
I do not .think I have done so improper a thing since I was 
fifteen ; and, dear me ! dear me ! how to escape is the ques- 
tion. You have permitted your partner to go, and I do not 
see a gentleman of my acquaintance near us, to give me his 
arm !” 

“As your distress is occasioned by my company,” said 
Eve, “ it is fortunately in my power to relieve it.” Thus 
saying, she quietly walked across the room, and took her 
seat next to Mademoiselle Yiefville. 

Miss Ring held up her hands in amazement, and then 
fortunately perceiving one of the truants gaping at no 
great distance, she beckoned him to her side. 

“ Have the goodness to give me your arm, Mr. Summer- 
field,” she said, “ I am dying to get out of this unpleasantly 
conspicuous situation ; but you are the first gentleman that 
has approached me this twelvemonth. I would not for the 
world do so brazen a thing as Miss Effingham has just 
achieved ; would you believe it, she positively went from 
this spot to her seat, quite alone !” 

“ The Hajjis are privileged.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


8 


“ They make themselves so. But everybody knows how 
bold and unwomanly the French females are. One could 
wish, notwithstanding, that bur own people would not import 
their audacious usages into this country.” 

“ It is a thousand pities that Mr. Clay, in his compromise, 
neglected to make an exception against that article. A 
tariff on impudence w^ould not be at all sectional.” 

“ It might interfere with the manufacture at home, not- 
withstanding,” said John Effingham ; for the lungs were 
strong, and the rooms of Mrs. Houston so small, that little 
was said that evening, 'which was not heard by any who 
chose to listen. But Miss Ring never listened, it being no 
part of the vocation of a helle to perform that inferior 
oflice, and sustained by the protecting arm of Mr. Summer- 
field, she advanced more boldly into the crowd, where she 
soon contrived to catch .another group of even six “ enter- 
tainees.” As for Mr. Summerfield, he lived a twelvemonth 
on the reputation of the exceedingly clever thing he had 
just uttered. I 

“ There come Ned and Aristabulus,” said John Effingham, 
as soon as the tones of Miss Ring’s voice were lost in the 
din of fifty others, pitched to the same key. “ A present. 
Mademoiselle, je vais nous venger.” 

As John Effingham uttered this, he took Captain Truck 
by the arm, and went to meet his cousin and the land-agent. 
The latter he soon separated from Mr. Effingham, and with 
this new recruit, he managed to get so near to Miss Ring as 
to attract her attention. Although fifty, John Effingham 
was known to be a bachelor, well connected, and to have 
twenty thousand a year. In addition, he was well preserved 
and singularly handsome, besides having an air that set all 
pretending gentility at defiance. These were qualities that 
no helle despised, and ill-assorted matches were, moreover, 
just coming into fashion in New York. Miss Ring had an 
intuitive knowledge that he wished to speak to her, and she 


88 


HOME AS FOUND. 


was not slow in oifering the opportunity. The superior tone 
of John Effingham, his caustic wit and knowledge of the 
world, dispersed the five beaux incontinently ; these persons 
having a natural antipathy to every one of the qualities 
named. 

“ I hope you will permit me to presume on an acquaint- 
ance that extends back as far as your grandfather, Miss 
Ring,” he said, “ to present two very intimate friends, Mr. 
Bragg, and Mr. Truck; gentlemen who will well reward the 
acquaintance.” 

The lady bowed graciously, for it was a matter of con- 
science with her to receive every man with a smile. She 
was still too much in awe of the master of ceremonies to 
open her batteries of attack, but John Effingham soon re- 
lieved her, by affecting a desire to speak to another lady. 
The belle had now the two strangers to herself, and having 
heard that the Effinghams had an Englishman of condition 
as a companion, who was travelling. under a false name, she 
fancied herself very clever in detecting him at once in the 
person of Aristabuhis ; while by the aid of a lively imagina- 
tion, she thought Mr. Truck was his travelling Mentor, and 
a divine of the church of England. The incognito she was 
too well bred to hint at, though she wished both the gentle- 
men to perceive that a belle was not to be mystified in this 
easy manner. Indeed, she was rather sensitive on the sub- 
ject of her readiness in recognising a man of fashion under 
any circumstances, and to let this be known was her very 
first object, as soon as she was relieved from the presence of 
John Effingham. 

“ You must be struck with tlie unsophisticated nature and 
the extreme simplicity of our society, Mr. Bragg,” she said, 
looking at him significantly ; “ we are very conscious it is 
not what it might be, but do you not think it pretty well 
for beginners ?” 

Now, Mr. Bragg had an entire consciousness that he had 


HOME AS FOUND. 


89 


never seen any society that deserved the name before this 
very night, hut he was supported in giving his opinions by 
^hat secret sense of his qualifications to fill any station, 
which formed so conspicuous a trait in his character, and 
his answer was given with an dplomh that would have added 
weight to the opinion of the veriest elegant of the Chaussk 
^Anth^ 

“ It is indeed a good deal unsophisticated,” he said, and 
so simple that anybody can understand it. I find but a 
single fault with this entertainment, which is, in all else, the 
perfection of elegance in my eyes, and that is, that there is 
too little room to swing the legs in dancing.” 

“ Indeed ? I did not expect that — is it not the best usage 
of Europe, now, to bring a quadrille into the very minimum 
of space?” 

“Quite the contrary. Miss. All good dancing requires 
evolutions. The dancing Dervishes, for instance, would 
occupy quite as much space as both of these sets that are 
walking before us, and I believe it is now generally admitted i 
that all good dancing needs room for the legs.” 

“ We necessarily get a little behind the fashions, in this 
distant country. Pray, sir, is it usual for ladies to walk 
alone in society ?” 

“ Woman was not made to move through life alone. Miss,” 
returned Aristabulus with a sentimental glance of the eye, 
for he never let a good opportunity for preferment slip 
through his fingers, and, failing of Miss Effingham, or Miss 
Van Cortlandt, of whose estates and connexions he had 
some pretty accurate notions, it struck him Miss Ring might 
possibly be a very eligible selection, as all was grist that 
came to his mill ; “ this, I believe, is an admitted truth.” 

“ By life you mean matrimony, I suppose.” 

“Yes, Miss, a man always means matrimony when he 
speaks to a young lady.” 

This rather disconcerted Miss Ring, who picked her nose- 


90 


HOME AS FOUND. 


gay, for she was not accustomed to hear gentlemen talk to 
ladies of matrimony, hut ladies to talk to gentlemen. Re- 
covering her self-possession, however, she said with ^ 
promptitude that did the school to which she belonged 
infinite credit, — 

“ You speak, sir, like one having experience.” 

“Certainly, Miss; I have been in love ever since I was 
ten years old ; I may say I was born in love, and hope to 
die in love.” 

This a little out-Heroded Herod, but the helU was not a 
person to be easily daunted on such a subject. She smiled 
graciously, therefore, and continued the conversation with 
renewed spirit. 

“You travelled gentlemen get odd notions,” she said, 
“and more particularly on such subjects. I always feel 
afraid to discuss them with foreigners, though with my own 
countrymen I have few reserves. Pray, Mr. Truck, are you 
satisfied with America ? Do you find it the country you 
expected to see ?” 

“ Certainly, marm ;” for so they pronounced this word in 
the river, and the captain cherished his first impressions ; 
“ when we sailed from Portsmouth, I expected that the first 
land we should make would be the Highlands of Navesink ; 
and, although a little disappointed, I have had the satisfac- 
tion of laying eyes on it at last.” 

“ Disappointment, I fear, is the usual fate of those who 
come from the other side. Is this dwelling of Mrs. Hous- 
ton’s equal to the residence of an English nobleman, Mr. 
Bragg ? ” 

“Considerably better. Miss, especially in the way of 
Republican comfort.” 

Miss Ring, like all helles^ detested the word Republican, 
their vocation being clearly to exclusion, and she pouted a 
little affectedly. 

“ I should distrust the quality of such comfort, sir,” she 


HOME AS FOUND. 


91 


said with point ; “ but are the rooms at all comparable with 
the rooms in Apsley House, for instance ? ” 

“ My dear Miss, Apsley House is a toll-gate lodge com- 
pared to this mansion ! I doubt if there be a dwelling in 
all England half as magnificent — indeed, I cannot imagine 
anything more brilliant and rich.” 

Aristabulus was not a man to do things by halves, and it 
was a point, of honor with him to know something of every- 
thing. It is true he no more could tell where Apsley House 
was, or whether it was a tavern or a gaol, than he knew half 
the other things on which he delivered oracular opinions ; 
but when it became necessary to speak, he was not apt to 
balk conversation from any igorance, real or affected. The 
opinion ho had just given, it is true, had a little surpassed 
Miss Ring’s hopes ; for the next thing in her ambition to 
being a belle, and of “ entertaining” gentlemen, was to fancy 
she was running her brilliant career in an orbit of fashion 
that lay parallel to that of the “nobility and gentry” of 
Great Britain. 

“Well, this surpasses my hopes,” she said, “although I 
was aware we are nearly on a level with the more improved 
tastes of Europe ; still I thought we were a little inferior to 
that part of the world yet.” 

“ Inferior, Miss ! That is a word that should never pass 
your lips ; you are inferior to nothing, whether in Europe 
or America, Asia or Africa.” 

As Miss Ring had been accustomed to do most of the 
flattering herself, as behoveth a belle, she began to be dis- 
concerted with the directness of the compliments of Arista- 
bulus, who was disposed to “make hay while the sun 
shines,” and she turned m a little confusion to the captain 
by way of relief; we say confusion, for the young lady, 
although so liable to be misunderstood, was not actually 
impudent, but merely deceived in the relations of things ; 
or in other words, by some confusion in usages, she had 


92 


HOME AS FOUND. 


hitherto peiniitted herself to do that in society which female 
performers sometimes do on the stage — enact the part of a 
man. 

“ You should tell Mr. Bragg, sir,” she said, with an ap- 
pealing look at the captain, “that flattery is a dangerous 
vice, and one altogether unsuited to a Christian.” 

“ It is, indeed, marm, and one that I never indulge in. 
No one under my orders can accuse me of flattery.” 

By “ under orders,” Miss Bing understood curates and 
deacons ; for she was aware the Church of England had 
clerical distinctions of this sort, that are unknown in 
America. 

“ I hope, sir, you do not intend to quit this country with- 
out favoring us with a discourse.” 

“Not I, marm — I am discoursing pretty much from 
morning till night when among my own people, though I 
own that this conversing rather puts me out of my reckon- 
ing. Let me get my foot on the planks I love, with an 
attentive audience, and a good cigar in my mouth, and I’ll 
hold forth with any bishop in the universe.” 

“ A cigar ! ” exclaimed Miss Bing, in surprise. “ Do 
gentlemen of your profession use cigars when on duty ? ” 

“ Does a parson take his fees ? Why, Miss, there is not 
a man among us who does not smoke from morning till 
night.” 

“ Surely not on Sundays ? ” 

“ Two for one, on those days more than any other.” 

“ And your people, sir, what do they do all this time ? ” 

“ Why, marm, most of them chew ; and those that don’t, 
if they cannot And a pipe have a dull time of it. For my 
part, I shall hardly relish the good place itself, if cigars are 
prohibited.” 

Miss Bing was surprised ; but she had heard that the 
English clergy were more free than our own, and then she 
had been accustomed to think everything English of the 


HOME AS FOUND. 


93 


purest water. A little reflection reconcilea her to the in- 
novation ; and the next day, at a dinner party, she was 
heard defending the usage as a practice that had a prece- 
dent in the ancient incense of the altar. At that moment, 
however, she was dying to impart her discoveries to others ; 
and she kindly proposed to the captain and Aristabulus to 
introduce them to some of her acquaintances, as they must 
find it dull, being strangers, to know no one. Introductions 
and cigars were the captain’s hobbies, and he accepted the 
offer with joy, Aristabulus uniting cordially in the proposition, 
as he fancied he had a right, under the Constitution of the 
United States of America, to be introduced to every human 
being with whom he came in contact. 

It is scarcely necessary to say how much the party with 
whom the two neophytes in fashion had come, enjoyed all 
this, though they concealed their amusement under the 
calm exterior of people of the world. From Mr. Effingham 
the mystification was carefully concealed by his cousin, as 
the former would have felt it due to Mrs. Houston, a well 
meaning but silly woman, to put an end to it. Eve and 
Grace laughed, as merry girls would be apt to laugh at such 
an occurrence, and they danced the remainder of the evening 
with lighter hearts than ever. At one, the company retired 
in the same informal manner, as respects announcements 
and the calling of carriages, as that in which they entered ; 
most to lay their drowsy heads on their pillows, and Miss 
Ring to ponder over the superior manners of a polished 
young Englishman, and to dream of the fragrance of a 
sermon that was preserved in tobacco. 


94 


HOME AS FOUND. 




CHAPTER VI. 


Marry, our play is the most lamentable ^ 

Comedy, and most cruel death of Pyramus and , ■ 

Thisby.” 

Peter Quince.' 


fK 


Our task in the way of describing town society will soon 
be ended. The gentlemen of the Effingham family had’ 
been invited to meet Sir George Templemore at one or two 
dinners, to which the latter had been invited in consequence 
of his letters, most of which were connected with his 
pecuniary arrangements. As one of these entertainments 
was like all the rest of the same character, a very brief ac- 
count of it will suffice to let the reader into the secret of 
the excellence of the genus. ^ 

A well spread board, excellent viands, highly respectable' 
cookery, and delicious wines, were everywhere met. Two 
rows of men clad in dark dresses, a solitary female at the 
head of the table, or if fortunate, with a supporter of the 
same sex near her, invariably composed the convives. The 
exaggerations of a province were seen ludicrously in one 
particular custom. The host, or perhaps it might have been 
the hostess, had been told there should be a contrast between 
the duller light of the reception-room and the brilliancy of: 
the table, and John Effingham actually hit his legs against 
a stool in floundering through the obscurity of the first 
drawing-room he entered on one of the occasions in 
question. 

hen seated at table, the first great duty of restauration 
performed, the conversation turned on the prices of lots. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


95 


speculations in towns, or the currency. After this came the 
regular assay of wines, during which it was easy to fancy 
the master of the house a dealer, for he usually sat either 
sucking a syphon or flourishing a corkscrew. The discourse 
would now have done credit to the annual meeting and 
dinner of the German exporters, assembled at Rudesheim 
to bid for the article. 

Sir George was certainly on the pointy of forming a 
very erroneous judgment concerning the country, when 
Mr. Effingham extricated him from this set, and intro- 
duced him properly into his own. Here, indeed, while 
there was much to strike a European as peculiar, and 
even provincial, the young baronet fared much better. 
He met with the same quality of table, relieved by an 
intelligence that was always respectable, and a manliness 
of tone which, if not unmixed, had the great merit of a 
simplicity and nature that are not always found in more 
sophisticated circles. The occasional incongruities struck 
them all, more than the positive general faults ; and Sir 
George Templemore did justice to the truth, by admitting 
frankly the danger he had been in of forming a too hasty 
opinion. 

All this time, which occupied a month, the young baro- 
net got to be more and more intimate in Hudson Square, 
Eve gradually becoming more frank and unreserved with 
him, as she grew sensible that he had abandoned his hopes 
of success wdth herself, and Grace gradually more cautious 
and timid, as she became conscious of his power to please, 
and the interest he took in herself. 

, It might have been three days after the ball at Mrs. 

Houston’s that most of the family was engaged to look in 
j on a Mrs. Legend, a lady of what was called a literary turn, 
i Sir George having been asked to make one of their party. 
Aristabulus was already returned to hisMuty in the country, 
where we shall shortly have occasion to join him, but an 


i 


96 


home as found. 


invitation had been sent to Mr. Truck, under the general 
erroneous impression of his real character. 

Taste, whether in the arts, literature, or anything else, is 
a natural impulse, like love. It is true both may be culti- 
vated and heightened by circumstances, but the impulses 
must be voluntary, and the flow of feeling, or of soul, as it 
has become a law to style it, is not to be forced, or com- 
manded to come and go at will. This is the reason that all 
premeditated enjoyments connected with the intellect, are 
apt to baffle expectations, and why academies, literary clubs, 
coteries, and dinners are commonly dull. It is true that a 
body of clever people may be brought together, and, if left 
to their own impulses, the characters of their mind will 
show themselves ; wit will flash, and thought will answer 
thought spontaneously ; but every effort to make the stupid 
agreeable, by giving a direction of a pretending intellectual 
nature to their efforts, is only rendering dulness more con- 
spicuous by exhibiting it in contrast with what it ought to 
be to be clever, as a bad picture is rendered the more con- 
spicuous by an elaborate and gorgeous frame. 

The latter was the fate of most of Mrs. Legend’s literary 
evenings, at which it was thought an illustration to under- 
stand even one foreign language. But it was known that 
Eve was skilled in most of the European tongues, and the 
good lady, not feeling that such accomplishments are chiefly 
useful as a means, looked about her in order to collect a 
set, among whom our heroine might find some one with 
whom to converse in each of her dialects. Little was said 
about it, it is true, but great eff'orts were made to cause this 
evening to be memorable in the annals of conversazioni. 

In carrying out this scheme, nearly all the wits, writers, 
artists, and literati^ as the most incorrigible members of the 
book clubs were styled in New York, were pressingly invit- 
ed to be present. Aristabulus had contrived to earn such a 
reputation for the captain, on the night of the ball, that he 


HOME AS FOUND. 


9V 


was universally called a man of letters, and an article had 
actually appeared in one of the papers, speaking of the 
literary merits of the “ Hon. and Rev. Mr. Truck, a gentle- 
man travelling in our country, from whose liberality and 
just views, an account of our society was to be expected, that 
should,* at last, do justice to our national character.” With 
such expectations, then, every true American and Ameri- 
can ess was expected to be at his or her post, for the solemn 
occasion. It was a rally of literature, in defence of the 
institutions — no, not of the institutions, for they were left 
to take care of themselves — but of the social character of 
the community. 

Alas ! it is easier to feel high aspirations on such subjects, 
in a provincial town, than to succeed ; for merely calling a 
place an Emporium, is very far from giving it the inde- 
pendence, high tone, condensed intelligence, and tastes 
of a capital. Poor Mrs. Legend, desirous of having all 
the tongues duly represented, was obliged to invite cer- 
tain dealers in gin from Holland, a German linen mer- 
chant from Saxony, an Italian Cavaliero^ who amused him- 
self in selling beads, and a Spanish master, who was born 
in Portugal, all of whom had just one requisite for con- 
versation in their respective languages, and no more. 
But such assemblies were convened in Paris, and why not 
in New York ? 

We shall not stop to dwell on the awful sensations with 
which Mrs. Legend heard the first ring at her door on the 
eventfiil night in question. It was the precursor of the 
entrance of Miss Annual, as regular a devotee of letters as 
ever conned a primer. The meeting was sentimental and 
affectionate. Before either had time, however, to disbur- 
den her mind of one half of its prepared phrases, ring 
upon ring proclaimed more company, and the rooms were 
soon as much sprinkled with talent, as a modern novel with 
jests. Among those who came first, appeared all the for- 
5 


98 


HOME AS FOUND. 


eign corps, for the refreshments entered as something into 
the account with them ; every blue of the place, whose 
social position in the least entitled her to be seen in such a 
house, Mrs. Legend belonging quite positively to good 
society. 

The scene that succeeded was very characteristic. A 
professed genius does nothing like other people, except in 
cases that require a display of talents. In all minor matters, 
he or she is sui generis ; for sentiment is in constant ebul- 
lition in their souls ; this being what is meant by the flow of 
that part of the human system. 

We might here very well adopt the Homeric method, and 
call the roll of heroes and heroines, in what the French 
would term a catalogue raisonnh ; but our limits compel us 
to be less ambitious, and to adopt a simpler mode of com- 
municating facts. Among the ladies who now figured in 
the drawing-room of Mrs. Legend, besides Miss Annual, 
were Miss Monthly, Mrs. Economy, S.R.P., Marion, Lon- 
ginus, Julietta, Herodotus, D.O.V.E., and Mrs. Demonstra- 
tion ; besides many others of less note ; together with at 
least a dozen female Hajjis, whose claims to appear in such 
society were pretty much dependent on the fact, that 
having seen pictures and statues abroad, they necessarily 
must have the means of talking of them at home. The list 
of men was still more formidable in numbers, if not in 
talents. At its head stood Steadfast Dodge, Esquire, whose 
fame as a male Hajji had so far swollen since Mrs. Jarvis’s 
reunion^ that, for the first time in his life, he now entered 
one of the better houses of his own country. Then there 
were the authors of “ Lapis Lazuli,” “ The Aunts,” “ The 
Reformed,” “The Conformed,” “The Transformed,” and 
“ The Deformed ;” with the editors of “ The Hebdomad,” 
“The Night Cap,” “ The Chrysalis,” “ The Real Maggot,” 
and “ The Seek no Further ;” as also, “ Junius,” “ Junius 
Brutus,” “Lucius Junius Brutus,” “ Captain Kant,” “Florio,” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


99 


the “ Author of the History of Billy Linkum Tweedle,” 
the celebrated Pottawattamie Prophet, “ Single Rhyme,” a 
genius who had prudently rested his fame in verse on a 
couplet composed of one line ; besides divers amateurs and 
connoisseurs^ Hajjis, who must be men of talents, as they 
had acquired all they knew very much as American Eclipse 
gained his laurels on the turf ; that is to say, by a free use 
of the whip and spur. 

As Mrs. Legend sailed about her rooms amid such a circle, 
her mind expanded, her thoughts diffused themselves among 
her guests on the principle of Animal Magnetism, and her 
heart was melting with the tender sympathies of congenial 
tastes. She felt herself to be at the head of American 
talents, and, in the secret recesses of her reason, she deter- 
mined that, did even the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah 
menace her native town, as some evil-disposed persons had 
dared to insinuate might one day be the case, here was 
enough to save it from destruction. 

It was just as the mistress of the mansion had come to 
this consoling conclusion, that the party from Hudson Square 
rang. As few of her guests came in carriages, Mrs. Legend, 
who heard the rolling of wheels, felt persuaded that the 
lion of the night was now indeed at hand, and with a view 
to a proper reception, she requested the company to divide 
itself into two lines, in order that he might enter, as it were, 
Ijetween lanes of genius. 

It may be necessary to explain at this point of our narra- 
tive, that John Effingham was perfectly aware of the error 
which existed in relation to the real character of Captain 
Truck, wherein he thought great injustice had been done the 
honest seaman; and the old man intending to sail for 
London next morning, had persuaded him to accept this 
invitation, in order that the public mind might be disabused 
ill a matter of so much importance. With a view that this 
might be done naturally and without fuss, however, he did 


100 


home as found. 


not explain the mistake to his nautical friend, believing it 
most probable that this could be better done incidentally as 
it were in the course of the evening, and feeling certain of 
the force of that wholesome apophthegm which says that 
“truth is powerful and must prevail.” “If this be so,” 
added John Effingham, in his explanations to Eve, “ there 
can be no place where the sacred quality will be so likely 
to assert itself as in a galaxy of geniuses, whose distinctive 
characteristic is ‘ an intuitive perception of things in their 
real colors.’” 

When the door of Mrs. Legend’s drawing-room opened, 
in the usual noiseless manner. Mademoiselle Viefville, who 
led the way, was startled at finding herself in the precise 
situation of one who is condemned to run the gauntlet. 
Fortunately she caught a glimpse of Mrs. Legend, posted at 
the other end of the proud array, inviting her with smiles 
to approach. The invitation had been to a “ literary /e/e,” 
and Mademoiselle Viefville was too much of a Frenchwoman 
to be totally disconcerted at a little scenic effect on the 
occasion of a fUe of any sort. Supposing she was now a 
witness of an American ceremony for the first time, for the 
want of representation in the country had been rather a 
subject of animadversion with her, she advanced steadily 
towards the mistress of the house, bestowing smile for smile, 
this being a part of the programme at which a Parisienne 
was not easily outdone. Eve followed, as usual, sola ^ 
Grace came next ; then Sir George ; then John Effingham ; 
the captain bringing up the rear. There had been a friendly 
contest for the precedency between the two last, each desir- 
ing to yield it to the other on the score of merit ; but the 
captain prevailed, by declaring “ that he was navigating an 
unknown sea, and that he could do nothing wiser than to 
sail in the wake of so good a pilot as Mr. John Effingham.” 

As Hajjis of approved experience, the persons who led the 
advance in this little procession were subjects of a proper 


HOME AS FOUND 


101 


attention and respect ; but as the admiration of mere vulgar 
travelling would in itself be vulgar, care was taken to reserve 
the condensed feeling of the company for the celebrated 
English writer and wit, who waf^ .known to bring up the 
rear. This was not a common house in/ which dollars had 
place, or belles rioted, but the temple of genius ; and every 
one felt an ardent desire to manifest a proper homage to 
the abilities of the established foreign writer, that should be 
in exact proportion to their indifference to the twenty thou- 
sand a year of John Effingham, and to the nearly equal 
amount of Eve’s expectations. 

The personal appearance of the honest tar was well 
adapted to the character he was thus called on so unexpect- 
edly to support. His hair had long been getting grey ; but 
the intense anxiety of the chase, of the wreck, and of 
his other recent adventures, had rapidly but effectually 
increased this mark of time, and his head was now nearly as 
white as snow. The hale, fresh red of his features, which; 
was in truth the result of exposure, might very well pass for 
the tint of port ; and his tread, which had always a little of 
the quarter-deck swinging about it, might quite easily be 
mistaken by a tyro for the human frame staggering under 
a load of learning. Unfortunately for those who dislike 
mystification, the captain had consulted John Effingham on 
the subject of the toilette, and that kind and indulgent friend 
had suggested the propriety of appearing in black small- 
clothes for the occasion, a costume that he often wore him- 
self of an evening. Reality, in this instance, then, did not 
disappoint expectation, and the burst of applause with which 
the captain was received, was accompanied by a general 
murmur in commendation of the admirable manner in 
which he “ looked the character.” 

“ What a Byronic head,” whispered the author of “ The 
Transformed” to D. O. V. E. ; “ and was there ever such a 
curl of the lip, before, to mortal man ?” 


102 


HOME AS FOUND. 


The truth is, the captain had thrust his tobacco into an 
aside,” as a monkey is known to erri'pocher a spare nut or a 
lump of sugar. 

“ Do you think him Eyronic ? To my eye the cast of his 
head is Shakspeai. ^ rather. Though I confess there is a 
little of Milton about the forehead !” 

“Pray,” said Miss Annual to Lucius Junius Brutus, 
“ which is commonly thought to be the best of his works ? 
That on a — a — a, — or that on e — e — e ?” 

Now, so it happened, that not a soul in the room, but the 
lion himself, had any idea what books he had written, and he 
knew only of some fifteen or twenty log-books. It was 
generally understood that he was a great English writer, and 
this was more than sufficient. 

“ I believe the world generally prefers the a — a — a,” said 
Lucius Junius Brutus ; “ but the few give a decided prefer- 
ence to the e — e — e.” 

“ Oh ! out of all question preferable !” exclaimed half a 
dozen in hearing. 

“ With what a classic modesty he pays his compliments 
to Mrs. Legend,” observed “ S. R. P.” “ One can always tell 
a man of real genius by his tenue !" 

“He is so English!” cried Florio. “Ah! they are the 
only people after all !” 

This Florio was one of those geniuses who sigh most for 
the things that they least possess. 

By this time Captain Truck had got through with listen- 
ing to the compliments of Mrs. Legend, when he was seized 
upon by a circle of rabid literati, who badgered him with 
questions concerning his opinions, notions, inferences, expe- 
riences, associations, sensations, sentiments, and intentions, in 
a way that soon threw the old man into a profuse perspira- 
tion. Fifty times did he wish, from the bottom of his soul — 
that soul which the crowd around him fancied dwelt so 
high in the clouds — that he was seated quietly by the side 


HOME AS FOUND. 


103 


of Mrs. Hawker, who, he mentally swore, was worth all the 
literati in Christendom. But fate had decreed otherwise, 
and we shall leave him to his fortune for a time, and 
return to our heroine and her party. 

As soon as Mrs. Legend had got through with her intro- 
ductory compliments to the captain, she sought Eve and 
Grace, with a consciousness that a few civilities were now 
their due. 

“ I fear. Miss Effingham, after the elaborate soirees of the 
literary circles in Paris, you will find our reunions of the 
same sort a little dull ; and yet I flatter myself with having 
assembled most of the talents of New York on this memo- 
rable occasion, to do honor to your friend. Are you 
acquainted with many of the company ?” 

Now, Eve had never seen nor ever heard of a single being 
in the room, with the exception of Mr. Dodge and her own 
party, before this night, although most of them had been 
so laboriously employed in puffing each other into celebrity, 
for many weary years ; and, as for elaborate soirees, she 
thought she had never seen one half as elaborate as this of 
Mrs. Legend’s. As it would not very well do, however, to 
express all this in words, she civilly desired the lady to 
point out to her some of the most distinguished of the com- 
pany. 

“AVith the greatest pleasure. Miss Effingham,” Mrs. 
Legend taking pride in dwelling on the merits of her guests. 
— “ This heavy, grand-looking personage, in whose air one 
sees refinement and modesty at a glance, is Captain Kant, 
the editor of one of our most decidedly pious newspapers. 
His mind is distinguished for its intuitive perception of all 
that is delicate, reserved, and finished in the intellectual 
world, while, in opposition to this quality, which is almost 
feminine, his character is just as remarkable for its unflinch- 
ing love of truth. He was never known to publish a false- 
hood, and of his foreign correspondence, in particular, he is 


104 


HOME AS FOUND. 


SO exceedingly careful, that he assures me he has every word 
of it written under his own eye.” 

“On the subject of his religious scruples,” added John 
Effingham, “ he is so fastidiously exact, that I hear he ‘ says 
grace’ over everything that goes from his press, and ‘ returns 
thanks’ for everything that comes to it.” 

“ You know him, Mr. Effingham, by this remark ? Is he 
not, truly, a man of a vocation ?” 

“ That, indeed, he is, ma’am. He may be succinctly said 
to have a newspaper mind, as he reduces everything in 
nature or art to news, and commonly imparts to it so much 
of his own peculiar character, that it loses all identity with 
the subjects to which it originally belonged. One scarcely 
knows which to admire most about this man, the atmo- 
spheric transparency of his motives, for he is so disinterested 
as seldom even to think of paying for a dinner when travel- 
ling, and yet so conscientious as always to say something 
obliging of the tavern as soon as he gets home — his rigid 
regard to facts, or the exquisite refinement and delicacy that 
he imparts to everything he touches. Over all this, too, he 
throws a beautiful halo of morality and religion, never even 
prevaricating in the hottest discussion, unless with the 
unction of a saint !” 

“ Do you happen to know Florio ?” asked Mrs. Legend, a 
little distrusting John Effingham’s account of Captain Kant. 

“ If I do, it must indeed be by accident. What are his 
chief characteristics, ma’am ?” 

“ Sentiment, pathos, delicacy, and all in rhyme, too. You, 
no doubt, have heard of his triumph over Lord Byron, Miss 
Effingham ?” 

Eve was obliged to confess that it was new to her. 

“ Why, Byron wrote an ode to Greece commencing with 
‘ The Isles of Greece ! the Isles of Greece !’ a very feeble line, 
as any one will see, for it contained a useless and an unmean- 
ing repetition.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


105 


“And you might add vulgar, too, Mrs. Legend,” said 
John Effingham, “ since it made a palpable allusion to all 
those vulgar incidents that associate themselves in the mind 
with these said common-place isles. The arts, philosophy, 
poetry, eloquence, and even old Homer, are brought unpleas- 
antly to one’s recollection by such an indiscreet invocation.” 

“So Florio thought, and, by way of letting the world 
perceive the essential difference between the base and the 
pure coin, he wrote an ode on England, which commenced 
as such an ode should !” 

“ Do you happen to recollect any of it, ma’am ?” 

“ Only the first line, which I greatly regret, as the rhyme 
is Florio’s chief merit. But this line is of itself sufficient to 
immortalize a man.” 

“ Do not keep us in torment, dear Mrs. Legend, but let 
us have it for heaven’s sake !” 

“ It began in this sublime strain, sir — ‘ Beyond the wave ! 
— Beyond the wave !’ Now, Miss Effingham, that is whaj 
I call poetry !” 

“ And well you may, ma’am,” returned the gentleman, 
who perceived Eve could scarce refrain from breaking out 
in a very unsentimental manner — “ So much pathos.” 

“ And so sententious and flowing !” 

“ Condensing a journey of three thousand miles, as it 
might be, into three words, and a note of admiration. 
I trust it was printed with a note of admiration, Mrs. 
Legend ?” 

“ Yes, sir, with two — one behind each wave — and such 
waves, Mr. Effingham !” 

“ Indeed, ma’am, you may say so. One really gets a grand 
idea of them, England lying beyond each.” 

“ So much expressed in so few syllables !” 

“ I think I see every shoal, current, ripple, rock, island, 
and whale, between Sandy Hook and the Land’s End.” 

“ He hints at an epic.” 


5* 


106 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Pray God lie may execute one. Let him make haste, 
too, or he may get ‘ behind the age,’ ‘ behind the age.’ ” 

Here the lady was called away to receive a guest. 

“ Cousin Jack !” 

“ Eve Effingham !” 

“ Do you not sometimes fear offending ?” 

“ Not a woman who begins with expressing her admira- 
tion of such a sublime thing as this. You are safe with such 
a person anywhere short of a tweak of the nose.” 

“ Mais, tout ceci est bien drole !” 

“You never were more mistaken in your life. Mademoi- 
selle ; everybody here looks upon it as a matter of life and 
death.” 

The new guest was Mr. Pindar, one of those careless, 
unsentimental fellows, that occasionally throw off an ode 
that passes through Christendom as dollars are known to 
pass from China to Norway, and yet who never fancied 
spectacles necessary to his appearance, solemnity to his face, 
nor soirees to his renown. After quitting Mrs. Legend, he 
approached Eve, to whom he was slightly known, and 
accosted her. 

“This is the region of taste. Miss Effingham,” he said, 
with a shrug of the jaw, if such a member can shrug ; “ and 
I do not wonder at finding you here.” 

He then chatted pleasantly a moment with the party, and 
passed on, giving an ominous gape as he drew nearer to the 
oi polloi of literature. A moment after appeared Mr. Gray, 
a man who needed nothing but taste in the public, and the 
encouragement that would follow such a taste, to stand at, 
or certainly near, the head of the poets of our own time. 
He, too, looked shily at the galaxy, and took refuge in a 
corner. Mr. Pith followed ; a man whose caustic wit needs 
only a sphere for its exercise, manners to portray, and a 
society with strong points about it to illustrate, in order to 
enrol his name high on the catalogue of satirists. Another 


HOME AS FOUND. 


107 


ring announced Mr. Fun, a writer of exquisite humor, and 
of finished periods, hut who, having perpetrated a little too 
much sentiment, was instantly seized upon by all the ultra 
ladies who were addicted to the same taste in that way 
in the room. 

These persons came too late, like those who had already 
been too often dosed in the same way, to be impatient of 
repetitions. The three first soon got together in a corner, 
and Eve fancied they were laughing at the rest of the com- 
pany, whereas, in fact, they were merely laughing at a bad 
joke of their own ; their quick perception of the ludicrous 
having pointed out a hundred odd combinations and absurdi- 
ties, that would have escaped duller minds. 

“ Who, in the name of the twelve Caesars, has Mrs. Legend 
got to lionize yonder, with the white summit and the dark 
base ?” asked the writer of odes.- 

“ Some English pamphleteer, by what I can learn,” an- 
swered he of satire ; “ some fellow Avho has achieved a pert 
review, or written a Minerva-Pressism, and who now flour- 
ishes like a bay tree among us. A modern Horace, or a 
Juvenal on his travels.” 

“ Fun is well badgered,” observed Mr. Gray. — “ Do you 
not see that Miss Annual, Miss Monthly, and that young 
alphabet D. O. V. E., have got him within the circle of their 
petticoats, where he will be martyred on a sigh ?” 

“ He casts longing looks this way ; he wishes you to go 
to his rescue. Pith.” 

“ I ! — Let him take his fill of sentiment ! I am no homce- 
opathist in such matters. Large doses in quick succession 
will soonest work a cure. Here comes the lion, and he 
breaks loose from his cage, like a beast that has been poked 
up with sticks.” 

“ Good evening, gentlemen,” said Captain Truck, wiping 
his face intensely, and who, having made his escape from a 
throng of admirers, took refuge in the first port that offered. 


108 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ You seem to be enjoying yourselves here in a rational and 
agreeable way. Quite cool and refreshing in this corner.” 

“ And yet we have no doubt that both our reason and our 
amusement will receive a large increase from the addition 
of your society, sir,” returned Mr. Pith. “ Do us the favor 
to take a seat, I beg of you, and rest yourself.” 

“ With all my heart, gentlemen ; for, to own the truth, 
these ladies make warm work about a stranger. I have just 
got out of what I call a category.” 

“You appear to have escaped with life, sir,” observed 
Pindar, taking a cool survey of the other’s person. 

“ Yes, thank God, I have done that, and it is pretty much 
all,” answered the captain, wiping his face. “ I served in 
the French war — Truxton’s war, as we call it — and I had a 
touch with' the English in the privateer trade, between 
twelve and fifteen; and here, quite lately, I was in an 
encounter with the savage Arabs down on the coast of 
Africa ; and I account them all as so much snow-balling, 
compared with the yard-arm and yard-arm work of this very 
night. I wonder if it is permitted to try a cigar at these 
conversation-onies, gentlemen ?” 

“ I believe it is, sir,” returned Pindar, coolly. “ Shall I 
help you to a light ? ” 

“ Oh ! Mr. Truck !” cried Mrs. Legend, following the 
chafed animal to his corner, as one would pursue any other 
runaway, “ instinct has brought you into this good company. 
You are now in the very focus of American talents.” 

“ Having just escaped from the focus of American talons,” 
whispered Pith. 

“I must be permitted to introduce you myself. Mr. 
Truck, Mr. Pindar — Mr. Pith — Mr. Gray ; gentlemen, you 
must be so happy to be acquainted, being, as it were, en- 
gaged in the same pursuits !” 

The captain rose and shook each of the gentlemen cor- 
dially by the hand, for he had, at least, the consolation of a 


HOME AS POUND. 


109 


great many introductions that night. Mrs. Legend disap- 
peared to say something to some other prodigy. 

“ Happy to meet you, gentlemen,” said the captain. “ In 
what trade do you sail ?” 

“By whatever name we may call it,” answered Mr. Pin- 
dar, “ we can scarcely be said to go before the wind.” 

“ Not in the Injee business, then, or the monsoons would 
keep the stun’sails set, at least.” 

“ No, sir. But yonder is Mr. Moccasin, who has lately 
set up secundum artem in the Indian business, having writ- 
ten two novels in that way already, and begun a third.” 

“ Are you all regularly employed, gentlemen ?” 

“As regularly as inspiration points,” said Mr. Pith. 
“ Men of our occupation must make fair weather of it, or 
we had better be doing nothing.” 

“ So I often tell my owners, but ‘ go ahead’ is the order. 
When I was a youngster, a ship remained in port for a fair 
wind ; but now she goes to work and makes one. The 
world seems to get young, as I get old.” 

“ This is a rum litterateur^' Gray whispered to Pindar. 

“ It is an obvious mystification,” was the answer ; “ poor 
Mrs. Legend has picked up some straggling porpoise, and 
converted him, by a touch of her magical wand, into a 
Boanerges of literature. The thing is as clear as day, for 
the worthy fellow smells of tar and cigar smoke. I per- 
ceive that Mr. Effingham is laughing out of the corner of 
his eyes, and will step across the room and get the truth in 
a minute.” 

The rogue was as good as his word, and was soon back 
again, and contrived to let his friends understand the real 
state of the case. A knowledge of the captain’s true cha- 
racter encouraged this trio in the benevolent purpose of aid- 
ing the honest old seaman in his wish to smoke, and Pith 
managed to give him a lighted paper, without becoming an 
open accessary to the plot. 


110 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Will you take a cigar yourself, sir ?” said the captain, 
offering his box to Mr. Pindar. 

“ I thank you, Mr. Truck, I never smoke, but am a pro- 
found admirer of the flavor. Let me entreat you to begin 
as soon as possible.” 

Thus encouraged. Captain Truck drew two or three whiffs, 
when the rooms were immediately filled with the fragrance 
of a real Havana. At the first discovery, the whole literary 
pack went off on the scent. As for Mr. Fun, he managed 
to profit by the agitation that followed, in order to escape 
to the three wags in the corner, who were enjoying the 
scene with the gravity of so many dervishes. 

“ As I live,” cried Lucius Junius Brutus, “ there is the 
author of a — a — a — actually smoking a cigar ! How 
excessively piquant /” 

“ Do my eyes deceive me, or is not that the writer of 
e — e — e — fumigating us all !” whispered Miss Annual. 

“ Nay, this cannot certainly be right,” put in Florio, with 
a dogmatical manner. “ All the periodicals agree that 
smoking is ungenteel in England.” 

“ You never were more mistaken, dear Florio,” replied 
D. O. V. E. in a cooing tone. “ The very last novel of 
society has a chapter in which the hero and heroine smoke 
in the declaration scene.” 

“ Do they, indeed ! That alters the case. Really one 
would not wish to get behind so great a nation, nor yet go 
much before it. Pray, Captain Kant, what do your friends 
in Canada say ; is, or is not smoking permitted in good 
society there ? the Canadians must, at least, be ahead of 
us.” 

“ Not at all, sir,” returned the editor, in his softest tones ; 

“ it is revolutionary and Jacobinical.” 

But the ladies prevailed, and by a process that is rather 
peculiar to what may be called a “ credulous” state of society, 
they carried the day. This process was simply to make one 


Ill 


HOME AS FO^ND. 

fiction authority for another. The fact that smohing was 
now carried so far in England, that the clergy actually used 
cigars in the pulpits, was affirmed on the authority of Mr. 
Truck himself, and, coupled with his present occupation, the 
point was deemed to be settled. Even Florio yielded, and 
his plastic mind soon saw a thousand beauties in the usage, 
that had hitherto escaped it. All the literati drew round 
the captain in a circle, to enjoy the spectacle, though the 
honest old mariner contrived to throw out such volumes of 
vapor as to keep them at a safe distance. His four demure- 
looking -neighbors got behind the barrier of smoke, where 
they deemed themselves entrenched against the assaults of 
sentimental petticoats, for a time at least. 

“Pray, Mr. Truck,” inquired S. R. P., “is it commonly 
thought in the English literary circles, that Byron was a 
development of Shakspeare, or Shakspeare a shadowing 
forth of Byron ?” i 

“ Both, marm,” said the captain, with a coolness that 
would have done credit to Aristabulus, for he had been fairly 
badgered into impudence, profiting by the occasion to knock 
the ashes off his cigar ; “ all incline to the first opinion, and 
most to the last.” 

“ What finesse !” murmured one. “ How delicate !” whis- 
pered a second. “ A dignified reserve !” ejaculated a third. 
“ So English !” exclaimed Florio. 

“ Do you think, Mr. Truck,” asked D. 0. V. E., “ that the 
profane songs of Little have more pathos than the sacred 
songs of Moore ; or that the sacred songs of Moore have 
more sentiment than the profane songs of Little ?” 

“ A good deal of both, marm, and something to spare. I 
think there is little in one, and more in the other.” 

“ Pray, sir,” said J. R. P., “ do you pronounce the name 
of Byron’s lady-love, Guy-kee-oh-^y, or Gwy-ky-o-Zee .^” 

“ That depends on how the wind is. If on shore, I am 
apt to say ‘ oh-lee and if off shore, ‘ oh-lie.’ ” 


112 


HOME AS FOUND. 

# 

“ That’s capital !” cried Florio, in an ecstasy of admira- 
tion. “ What man in this country could have said as crack 
a thing as that ?” 

“ Indeed it is very witty,” added Miss Monthly — “ what 
does it mean ?” 

“ Mean ! More than is seen or felt by common minds. 
Ah ! the English are truly a great nation ! How delight- 
fully he smokes !” 

“ I think he is much the most interesting man we have 
had out here,” observed Miss Annual, “ since the last bust 
of Scott!” 

“Ask him, dear D. 0. Y. R,” whispered Julietta, who 
was timid, from the circumstance of never having published, 
“ which he thinks the most ecstatic feeling, hope or despair ?” 
The question was put by the more experienced lady, accord- 
ing to request, though she first said, in a hurried tone to her 
youthful sister — “ you can have felt but little, child, or you 
would know that it is despair, as a matter of course.” 

The honest captain, however, did not treat the matter so 
lightly, for he improved the opportunity to light a fresh 
cigar, throwing the still smoking stump into Mrs. Legend’s 
grate, through a lane of literati, as he afterwards boasted, as 
coolly as he could have thrown it overboard, under other 
circumstances. Luckily for his reputation for sentiment, he 
mistook “ ecstatic,” a word he had never heard before, for 
“ erratic and recollecting sundry roving maniacs that he 
had seen, he answered promptly 

“ Despair, out and out.” 

“ I knew it,” said one. 

“ It’s in nature,” added a second. 

“ All can feel its truth,” rejoined a third. 

“ This point may now be set down as established,” cried 
Florio, “ and I hope no more will be said about it.” 

“ This is encouragement to the searchers after truth,” put 
in Captain Kant. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


113 


“ Pray, Hon. aud Rev. Mr. Truck,” asked Lucius Junius 
Brutus, at the joint suggestion of Junius Brutus and Brutus, 
“ does the Princess Victoria smoke ?” 

“ If she did not, sir, where would be the use in being a 
princess! I suppose you know that all the tobacco seized in 
England, after a deduction to informers, goes to the crown.” 

“ I object to this usage,” remarked Captain Kant, “ as 
irreligious, French, and tending to sans-culotteism. I am 
willing to admit of this distinguished instance as an excep- 
tion; but on all other grounds, I shall maintain that it 
savors of infidelity to smoke. The Prussian government, 
much the best of our times, never smokes.” 

“ Tliis man thinks he has a monopoly of the puffing him- 
self,” Pindar whispered into the captain’s ear ; “ whilf away, 
my dear sir, and you’ll soon throw him into the shade.” 

The captain winked, drew out his box, lighted another 
cigar, and, by way of rej^ly to the envious remark, he put 
one in each corner of . his mouth, and soon had both in full 
blast, a state in which he kept them for near a minute. 

“ Tliis is the very picturesque of social enjoyment,” ex- 
claimed Florio, holding up both hands in a^ glow of rapture, 

“ It is absolutely Homeric, in the way of usages ! Ah I 
the English are a great nation 1” 

“ I should like to know excessively if there was really such 
a person as Baron Mun-chaw-sen ?” said Julietta, gathering 
courage from the success of her last question. 

“There was. Miss,” returned the captain, through his 
teeth, and nodding his head in the affirmative. “ A regular 
traveller, that ; and one who knew him well, swore to me 
that he hadn’t related one half of what befel him.” 

“ How very delightful to learn this from the highest 
quarter 1” exclaimed Miss Monthly. 

“ Is Gatty (Goethe) really dead ?” inquired Longinus, “ or 
is the account we have had to that effect, merely a metaphy- 
sical apotheosis of his mighty soul ?” 


114 


home as found. 


“ Dead, marm — stone dead — dead as a door-nail, re- 
turned the captain, who saw a relief in killing as many as 
possible. 

« You have been in France, Mr. Truck, beyond question ?” 
observed Lucius Junius Brutus, in the way one puts a ques- 
tion. 

“ France ! I was in France before I was ten years old. 
I know every foot of the coast, from Havre de Grace to 
Marseilles.” 

“Will you then have the goodness to explain to us 
whether the soul of Chat-to-bri-ow^ is more expanded than 
his reason, or his reason more expanded than his soul ?” 

Captain Truck had a very tolerable notion of Baron 
Munchausen and of his particular merits ; but Chateaubri- 
ant was a writer of whom he knew nothing. After ponder- 
ing a moment, and feeling persuaded that a confession of 
ignorance might undo him ; for the old man had got to be 
influenced by the atmosphere of the place ; he answered 
coolly — 

“ Oh ! Chat-to-bri- 07 ^^, is it you mean ? As whole-souled 
a fellow as I know. All soul, sir, and lots of reason, besides.” 

“ How simple and unaffected ! ” 

“ Crack ! ” exclaimed Florio. 

“A thorough Jacobin!” growled Captain Kant, who 
was always offended when any one but himself took liberties 
Avith the truth. 

Here the four wags in the corner observed that head Avent 
to head in the crowd, and that the rear rank of the com- 
pany began to disappear, while Mrs. Legend was in evident 
distress. In a few minutes all the Romans were off ; Florio 
soon after vanished, grating his teeth in a poetical frenzy; and 
even Captain Kant, albeit so used to look truth in the face, 
beat a retreat. The alphabet followed, and even the Annual 
and the Monthly retired, with leave-takings so solemn and 
precise, that poor Mrs. Legend was in total despair. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


115 


Eve, foreseeing sometliing unpleasant, liad gone away 
first, and in a few nainutes Mr. Dodge, who had been very 
active in the crowd, whispering and gesticulating, made his 
bow also. The envy of this man had in fact become so 
intolerable, that he had let the cat out of the bag. No one 
now remained but the party entrenched behind the smoke, 
and the mistress of the house. Pindar solemnly proposed 
to the captain that they should go and enjoy an oyster 
supper in company; and the proposal being cordially ac- 
cepted, they rose in a body to take leave. 

“ A most delightful evening, Mrs. Legend,” said Pindar, 
with perfect truth, “ much the pleasantest I ever passed in a 
house, where one passes so many that are agreeable.” 

“ I cannot properly express my thanks for the obligation 
you have conferred by making me acquainted with Mr. 
Truck,” added Gray. “ I shall cultivate it as far as in my 
power, for a more capital^fellow never breathed.” 

“ Really, Mrs. Legend, this has been a Byronic night ! ” 
observed Pith, as he made his bow. “ I shall long remember 
it, and I think it deserves to be commemorated in verse.” 

Fun endeavored to look sympathetic and sentimental, 
though the spirit within could scarcely refrain from grinning 
in Mrs. Legend’s face. He stammered out a few compli- 
ments, however, and disappeared. 

“ Well, good night, marm,” said Captain Truck, offering 
his hand cordially. “ This has been a pleasant evening 
altogether, though it was warm work at first. If you like 
ships, I should be glad to show you the Montauk’s cabins 
when we get back ; and if you ever think of Europe, let 
me recommend the London line as none of the worst. 
We’ll try to make you comfortable, and trust to me to 
choose a state-room — a thing I am experienced in.” 

Not one of the wags laughed until they were fairly con- 
fronted with the oysters. Then, indeed, they burst out into 
a general and long fit of exuberant merriment, returning to 


116 


HOME AS FOUND. 


it between the courses from the kitchen like the refrain of a 
song. Captain Truck, who was uncommonly well satisfied 
with himself, did not understand the meaning of all this 
boyishness, but he has often declared since that a heartier 
or a funnier set of fellows he never fell in with, than his 
four companions proved to be that night. 

As for the literary soiree^ the most profound silence has 
been maintained concerning it, neither of the wits there 
assembled having seen fit to celebrate it in rhyme, and 
Florio having actually torn up an impromptu for the oc- 
casion, that he had been all the previous day writing. 


HOME AS FOUND, 


117 


CHAPTER YH. 

“ There is a history in all men’s lives, 

Figuring the nature of the times deceased. 

The which observed, a man may prophesy 
With a near aim, of the main chance of things, 

As yet not come to life.” 

Kino Henry VI. 

The following morning the baronet breakfasted in Hudson 
Square. While at table, little was said concerning the 
events of the past night, though sundry smiles were 
exchanged, as eye met eye, and the recollection of the mys- 
tification returned. Grace , alone looked grave ; for she had 
been accustomed to consider Mrs. Legend a very discrimi- 
nating person, and she had even hoped that most of those 
who usually figured in her rooms were really the clever 
persons they laid claim to be. 

The morning was devoted to looking at the quarter of the 
town which is devoted to business, a party having been made 
for that express purpose under the auspices of John Effing- 
ham. As the weather was very cold, although the distances 
were not great,* the carriages were ordered, and they all set 
off about noon. 

Grace had given up expecting a look of admiration from 
Eve in behalf of any of the lions of New York, her cousin 
having found it necessary to tell her, that, in a comparative 
sense at least, little was to be said in behalf of these provin- 
cial wonders. Even Mademoiselle Yiefville, now that the 
freshness of her feelings was abated, had dropped quietly 
down into a natural way of speaking of these things ; and 
Grace, who was quick-witted, soon discovered that when she 


118 


HOME AS FOUND. 


did make any allusions to similar objects in Europe, it was 
always to those that existed in some country town. A 
silent convention existed, therefore, to speak no more on 
such subjects; or if anything was said, it arose inciden- 
tally and as inseparable from the regular thread of the dis- 
course. 

When in Wall street, the carriages stopped and the gen- 
tlemen alighted. The severity of the weather kept the ladies 
in the chariot, where Grace endeavored to explain things as 
well as she could to her companions. 

“ What are all these people running after so intently ?” 
inquired Mademoiselle Viefville, thp conversation being in 
French, but which we shall render freely into English, for 
the sake of the general reader. 

“ Dollars, I believe. Mademoiselle. Ami right, Grace 

“ I believe you are,” returned Grace, laughing, “ though I 
know little more of this part of the town than yourself.” 

“■ Quelle foule ! Is that building filled with dollars, into 
which the gentlemen are now entering? Its steps are 
crowded.” 

“ That is the Bourse^ Mademoiselle, and it ought to be 
well lined, by the manner in which some who frequent it 
live. Cousin Jack and Sir George are going into the crowd, 
I see.” 

We will leave the ladies in their seats a few minutes, and 
accompany the gentlemen on their w’ay into the Exchange. 

“ I shall now show you. Sir George Templemore,” said 
John Effingham, “ what is peculiar to this country, and 
what, if properly improved, it is truly worth a journey across 
the ocean to see. You have been at the Royal Exchange in 
London, and at the Bourse of Paris, but you have never 
witnessed a scene like that which I am about to introduce 
you to. In Paris, you have beheld the unpleasant spectacle 
of women gambling publicly in the funds ; but it was in 
driblets, compared to what you will see here.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


119 


While speaking, John Effingham led the way np stairs 
into the office of one of the most considerable auctioneers. 
The walls were lined with maps, some representing houses, 
some lots, some streets, some entire towns. 

“ This is the focus of what Aristabulus Bragg calls the 
town trade,” said John Effingham, when fairly confronted 
with all these wonders. “ Here, then, you may suit your- 
self with any species of real estate that heart can desire. If 
a villa is“ wanted, there are a dozen. Of farms a hundred 
are in market ; that is merely half a dozen streets ; 9,nd 
here are towns, of dimensions and value to suit pur- 
chasers.” 

“ Explain this. It exceeds comprehension.” 

“It is simply what it professes to be. Mr. Hammer, 
do us the favor to step this way. Are you selling to- 
day ?” 

“ Not much, sir. Only a, hundred or two lots on this 
island, and some six or eight farms, with one western vil- 
lage.” 

“ Can you tell us the history of this particular piece of 
property, Mr. Hammer ?” 

“ With great pleasure, Mr. Effingham ; we know you to 
have means, and hope you may be induced to purchase. 
This was the farm of old Yolkert Van Brunt, five years 
since, off of which he and his family had made a livelihood 
for more than a century, by selling milk. Two years since, 
the sons sold it to Peter Feeler for a hundred an acre, or for 
the total sum of five thousand dollars. The next spring Mr. 
Feeler sold it to John Search, as keen a one as we have, for 
twenty-five thousand. Search sold it at private sale to 
Nathan Rise for fifty thousand the next week, and Rise had 
parted with it to a company, before the purchase, for a 
hundred and twelve thousand, cash. The map ought to be 
taken down — for it is now eight months since we sold it out 
in lots, at auction, for the gross sum of three hundred thou- 


120 


HOME AS FOUND. 


sand dollars. As we have received our commission, we look 
at that land as out of the market for a time.” 

“ Have you other property, sir, that affords the same 
wonderful history of a rapid advance in value ?” asked the 
baronet. 

“ These walls are covered with maps of estates in the 
same predicament. Some have risen two or three thou- 
sand per cent, within five years, and some only a few hun- 
dred. There is no calculating in the matter — for it is all 
fancy.” 

“ And on what is .this enormous increase in value founded ? 
Does the town extend to these fields ?” 

“ It goes much further, sir ; that is to say, on paper. In 
the way of houses, it is still some miles short of them. A 
good deal depends on what you call a thing, in this market. 
Now, if old Volkert Van Brunt’s property had been still 
called a farm, it would have brought a farm price ; but, as 
soon as it was surveyed into lots, and mapped 

“ Mapped !” 

“Yes, sir; brought into visible lines, with feet and inches. 
As soon as it was properly mapped, it rose to its just value. 
We have a good deal of the bottom of the sea that brings 
fair prices in consequence of being well mapped.” 

Here the gentlemen e'xpressed their sense of the auc- 
tioneer’s politeness, and retired. 

“We will now go into the sales-room,” said John EflSng- 
ham, “ where you shall judge of the spirit, or energy, as it 
is termed, which at this moment actuates this great nation.” 

Descending, they entered a crowd, where scores were 
eagerly bidding against each other, in the fearful delusion 
of growing rich by pushing a fancied value to a point still 
higher. One was purchasing ragged rocks, another the 
bottom of rivers, a third a bog, and all on the credit of 
maps. Our two observers remained some time silent spec- 
tators of the scene. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


121 


“ When I first entered that room,” said John Efiingham, 
as they left the place, “ it appeared to me to be filled with 
maniacs. Now, that I have been in it several times, the 
impression is not much altered.” 

“And all those persons are hazarding their means of 
subsistence on the imaginary estimate mentioned by the 
auctioneer ?” 

“ They are gambling as recklessly as he who places his 
substance on the cast of the die. So completely has the 
mania seized every one, that the obvious truth — a truth 
which is as apparent as any other law of nature — that 
nothing can be sustained without a foundation, is com- 
pletely overlooked, and he who should now proclaim, in this 
building, principles that bitter experience will cause every 
man to feel within the next few years, would be happy if 
he escaped being stoned. I have witnessed many similar 
excesses in the way of spec^ilation ; but never an instance 
as gross, as widespread, and as alarming as this.” 

“You apprehend serious consequences, then, from the 
reaction 

- “ In that particular we are better olf than older nations, 
the youth and real stamina of the country averting much of 
the danger ; but I anticipate a terrible blow, and that the 
day is not remote when this town will awake to a sense of 
its illusion, What you see here, is but a small part of the 
extravagance that exists ; for it pervades the whole commu- 
nity in one shape or another. Extravagant issues of paper 
money, inconsiderate credits that commence in Europe and 
extend throughout the land, and false notions as to the 
value of their possessions, in men who five years since had 
nothing, has completely destroyed the usual balance of 
things, and money has got to be so completely the end of 
life, that few think of it as a means. The history of the 
world, probably, cannot furnish a parallel instance of an 
extensive country that is so absolutely under this malign 

6 


122 


HOME AS FOUND. 


influence, as is the fact with our own at this present instant. 
All principles are swallowed up in the absorbing desire for 
gain — national honor, permanent security, the ordinary 
rules of society, law, the constitution, and everything that 
is usually so dear to men, are forgotten, or are perverted in 
order to sustain this unnatural condition of things.” 

“ This is not only extraordinary, but it is fearful !” 

“ It is both. The entire community is in the situation of 
a man who is in the incipient stages of an exhilarating 
intoxication, and who keeps pouring down glass after glass, 
in the idle notion that he is merely sustaining nature in her 
ordinary functions. This widespread infatuation extends 
from the coast to the extremest frontiers of the west ; for, 
while there is a justiflable foundation for a good deal of this 
fancied prosperity, the true is so interwoven with the false, 
that none but the most observant can draw the distinction, 
and, as usual, the false predominates.” 

“ By your account, sir, the tulip mania of Holland was 
trifling compared to this !” 

“ That was the same in principle as our own, but insigni- 
ficant in extent. Could I lead you through these streets, 
and let you into the secret of the interests, hopes, infatua- 
tions, and follies that prevail in the human breast, you, as a 
calm spectator, would be astonished at the manner in which 
your own species can be deluded. But let us move, and 
something may still occur to offer an example.” 

“ Mr. Effingham — T beg pardon — Mr. Effingham,” said a 
very gentlemanly looking merchant, who was walking about 
the hall of the Exchange, “what do you think now of our 
French quarrel ?” 

“ I have told you, Mr. Bale, all T have to say on that 
subject. When in France, I wrote you that it was not the 
intention of the French government to comply with the 
treaty. You have seen this opinion justified in the result ; 
you have the declaration of the French minister of state. 


HOME AS POUND. 


123 


that without an apology from this government, the money 
will not be paid ; and I have given it as my opinion, that 
the vane on yonder steeple will not turn more readily than 
all this policy will be abandoned, should anything occur in 
Europe to render it necessary, or could the French ministry 
believe it possible for this country to fight for a principle. 
These are my opinions, in all their phases, and you may 
compare them with facts and judge for yourself.” 

“ It is all General Jackson, sir — all that monster’s doings. 
But for his message, Mr. Eflingham, we should have had the 
money long ago.” 

“ But for his message, or some equally decided step, Mr. 
Bale, you would never have it.” 

“ Ah, my dear sir, I know your intentions, but I fear you 
are prejudiced against that excellent man, the King of 
France ! Prejudice, Mr. Effingham, is a sad innovator on 
justice.” ^ 

Here Mr. Bale shook his head, laughed, and disappeared 
in the crowd, perfectly satisfied that John Effingham was a 
prejudiced man, and that he himself was only liberal and just. 

“ Now, that is a man who wants for neither abilities nor 
honesty, and yet he permits his interests, and the influence 
of this very speculating mania, to overshadow all his sense of 
right, facts plain as noon-day, and the only principles that 
can rule a country in safety.” 

“ He apprehends war, and has no desire to believe even 
facts, so long as they serve to increase the danger.” 

“ Precisely so ; for even prudence gets to be a perverted 
quality, when men are living under an infatuation like that 
which now exists. These men live like the fool who says 
there is no death.” 

Here the gentlemen rejoined the ladies, and the carriages 
drove through a succession of narrow and crooked streets 
that were lined with warehouses filled with the products of 
the civilized world. 


124 


HOME AS FOUND 


Very much of all this is a part of the same lamentable 
illusion,” said John Effingham, as the carriages made their 
way slowly through the encumbered streets. “ The man 
who sells his inland lots at a profit, secured by credit, fancies 
himself enriched, and he extends his manner of living in 
proportion. The boy from the country becomes a mer- 
chant — or what is here called a merchant — and obtains a 
credit in Europe a hundred times exceeding his means, and 
caters to these fancied wants ; and thus is every avenue of 
society thronged with adventurers, the ephemera of the 
same widespread spirit of reckless folly. Millions in value 
pass out of these streets, that go to feed the vanity of those 
who fancy themselves wealthy, because they hold some ideal 
pledges for the payment of advances in price like those 
mentioned by the auctioneer, and which have some such 
security for the eventual payment, as one can find in calling 
a thing that is really worth a dollar, worth a hundred.” 

“ Are the effects of this state of things apparent in your 
ordinary associations ?” 

“ In everything. The desire to grow suddenly rich has 
seized on all classes. Even women and clergymen are 
infected, and we exist under the active control of the most 
corrupting of all influences, ‘ the love of money.’ I should 
despair of the country altogether, did I not feel certain that 
the disease is too violent to last, and entertain a hope that 
the season of calm reflection and of repentan — that is to 
follow — will be in proportion to its causes.” 

After taking this view of the town, the party returned to 
Hudson Square, where the baronet dined, it being his inten- 
tion to go to Washington on the following day. The leave- 
taking in the evening was kind and friendly ; Mr. Effing- 
ham, who had a sincere regard for his late fellow-traveller, 
cordially inviting him to visit him in the mountains in 
June. 

As Sir George took his leave, the bells began to ring for 


HOME AS FOUND. 


125 


a fire. In New York one gets so accustomed to these 
alarms, that near an hour had passed before any of the 
Effingham family began to reflect on the long continuance 
of the cries. A servant was then sent out to ascertain the 
reason, and his report made the matter more serious than 
usual. 

We believe that in the frequency of these calamities the 
question lies between Constantinople and New York. It is 
a common occurrence for twenty or thirty buildings to be 
burnt down in the latter place, and for the residents of the 
same ward to remain in ignorance of the circumstance, until 
enlightened on the fact by the daily prints; the constant 
repetition of the alarms hardening the ear and the feelings 
against the appeal. A Are of greater extent than common, 
had occurred only a night or two previously to this ; and a 
rumor now prevailed, that the severity of the weather, and 
the condition of the hose ai?d engines, rendered the present 
danger double. On hearing this intelligence, the Messrs. 
Effingham wrapped themselves up in their overcoats, and 
went together into the streets. 

“ This seems something more than usual, Ned,” said John 
Effingham, glancing his eye upwards at the lurid vault, 
athwart which gleams of flery light began to shine ; “ the 
danger is not distant, and it seems serious.” 

Following the direction of the current, they soon found 
the scene of the conflagration, which was in the very heart 
of those masses of warehouses, or stores, that John Effingham 
had commented on so lately. A short street of high build- 
ings was already completely in flames, and the danger of ap- 
proaching the enemy, added to the frozen condition of the 
apparatus, the exhaustion of the firemen from their previous 
efforts, and the intense coldness of the night, conspired to 
make the aspect of things in the highest degree alarming. 

The firemen of New York have that superiority over 
those of other places, that the veteran soldier obtains over 


126 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the recruit. But the best troops can be appalled, and on 
this memorable occasion these celebrated firemen, from a 
variety of causes, became for a time little more than pas- 
sive spectators of the terrible scene. 

There "was an hour or two when all attempts at check- 
ing the conflagration seemed really hopeless, and even the 
boldest and the most persevering scarcely knew which Avay 
to turn, to be useful. A failure of water, the numerous 
points that required resistance, the conflagration extending 
in all directions from a common centre, by means of number- 
less irregular and narrow streets, and the impossibility of 
withstanding the intense heat in the choked passages, soon 
added despair to the other horrors of the scene. 

They who stood the fiery masses, were freezing on one 
side with the Greenland cold of the night, while their 
bodies were almost blistered with the fierce flames on the 
other. There was something frightful in this contest of the 
elements, nature appearing to condense the heat within its 
narrowest possible limits, as if purposely to increase its 
fierceness. The effects were awful ; for entire buildings 
would seem to dissolve at their touch, as the forked flames 
enveloped them in sheets of fire. 

Every one being afoot, within sound of alarm, though all 
the more vulgar cries had ceased, as men would deem it 
mockery to cry murder in a battle. Sir George Templemore 
met his friends on the margin of this sea of fire. It was 
now drawing towards morning, and the conflagration was at 
its height, having already laid waste a nucleus of blocks, 
and it was extending by many lines in every possible 
direction. 

“ Here is a fearful admonition for those who set their 
hearts on riches,” observed Sir George Templemore, recal- 
ling the conversation of the previous day. “What, indeed, 
are the designs of man, as compared with the will of Pro- 
vidence !” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


127 


“ I foresee that this is le commencement de la jin^' returned 
John Effingham. “ The destruction is already so great, as 
to threaten to bring down with it the usual safeguards 
against such losses, and one pin knocked out of so frail and 
delicate a fabric, the whole will become loose, and fall to 
pieces.” 

“ Will nothing be done to arrest the flames ?” 

“ As men recover from the panic, their plans will improve 
and their energies will revive. The wider streets are already 
reducing the fire within more certain limits, and they speak 
of a favorable change of wind. It is thought five hundred 
buildings have already been consumed, in scarcely half a 
dozen hours.” 

That Exchange, which had so lately resembled a bustling 
temple of Mammon, was already a dark and sheeted ruin, 
its marble w'alls being cracked, defaced, tottering, or fallen. 
It lay on the confines of the^ ruin, and our party was enabled 
to take their position near it, to observe the scene. All in 
their immediate vicinity was assuming the stillness of deso- 
lation, while the flashes of fierce light in the distance 
marked the progress of the conflagration. Those who knew 
the localities, now began to speak of the natural or acci- 
dental barriers, such as the water, the slips, and the broader 
streets, as the only probable means of arresting the destruc- 
tion. The crackling of the flames grew distant fast, and 
the cries of the firemen were now scarcely audible. 

At this period in the frightful scene, a party of seamen 
arrived, bearing powder, in readiness to blow up various 
buildings, in the streets that possessed of themselves no 
sufficient barriers to the advance of the flame. Led by 
their officers, these gallant fellows, carrying in their arms 
the means of destruction, moved up steadily to the verge 
of the torrents of fire, and planted their kegs ; laying their 
trains with the hardy indifference that practice can alone 
create, and with an intelligence that did infinite credit to 


128 


HOME AS FOUND. 


their coolness^ This deliberate courage was rewarded with 
complete success, and house crumbled to pieces after house, 
under the dull explosions, happily without an accident. 

From this time the flames became less ungovernable, 
though the day dawned and advanced, and another night 
succeeded, before they could be said to be got fairly under. 
Weeks, and even months passed, however, ere the smoulder- 
ing ruins ceased to send up smoke, the fierce element con- 
tinuing to burn, like a slumbering volcano, as it might be in 
the bowels of the earth. 

The day that succeeded this disaster was memorable for 
the rebuke it gave the rapacious longing for wealth. Men 
who had set their hearts on gold, and who prided themr 
selves on their possessions, and on that only, were made to 
feel its inanity ; and they who had walked abroad as gods 
so lately, began to experience how utterly insignificant are 
the merely rich, when stripped of their possessions. Eight 
hundred buildings, containing fabrics of every kind, and the 
raw material in various forms, had been destroyed, as it 
were in the twinkling of an eye. 

A faint voice was heard from the pulpit, and there was a 
moment when those who remembered a better state of 
things, began to fancy that principles would once more 
assert their ascendency, and that the community would, in 
a measure, be purified. But this expectation ended in dis- 
appointment, the infatuation being too widespread and cor- 
rupting to be stopped by even this check, and the rebuke 
was reserved for a form that seems to depend on a law of 
nature, that of causing a vice to bring with it its own infal- . 
lible punishment. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


129 


CHAPTER yill. 

“ First, tell me, have you ever been at Pisa ?” 

Shakspeake. 

The conflagration alluded to rather than described in the 
preceding chapter, threw a gloom over the gaieties of New 
York — if that ever could be properly called gay, which was 
little more than a strife in prodigality and parade — and leaves 
us little more to say of the events of the winter. Eve re- 
gretted very little the interruption to scenes in which she 
had found no pleasure, however much she lamented the 
cause ; and she and Grace passed the remainder of the sea- 
son quietly cultivating the friendship of such women as 
Mrs. Hawker and Mrs. Bloomfield, and devoting hours to 
the improvement of their minds and tastes, without ever 
again venturing, however, within the hallowed precincts of 
such rooms as those of Mrs. Legend. 

One consequence of a state of rapacious infatuation like 
that we have just related, is the intensity of selfishness 
which smothers all recollection of the past, and all just 
anticipations of the future, by condensing life, with its 
motives and enjoyments, into the present moment. Captain 
Truck, therefore, was soon forgotten, and the literati, as that 
worthy seaman had termed the associates of Mrs. Legend, 
remained just as vapid, as conceited, as ignorant, as imita- 
tive, as dependent, and as provincial as ever. 

As the season advanced, our heroine began to look with 
longings towards the country. The town life of an Ameri- 
can ofifers little to one accustomed to a town life in older and 
more permanently regulated communities ; and Eve was 
6 * 


130 


HOME AS FOUND. 


already heartily weary of crowded and noisy balls (for a few 
were still given), belles, the struggles of an uninstructed 
taste, and a representation in which extravagance was so 
seldom relieved by the elegance and convenience of a con- 
dition of society, in which more attention is paid to the fit- 
ness of things. 

The American spring is the least pleasant of its four sea- 
sons, its character being truly that of “ winter lingering in 
the lap of May.” Mr. Effingham, who the reader will pro- 
bably suspect by this time to be a descendant of a family 
of the same name that we have had occasion to introduce 
into another work, had sent orders to have his country re- 
sidence prepared for the reception of our party ; and it was 
with a feeling of delight that Eve stepped on board a steam- 
boat to escape from a town that, while it contained so much 
that is worthy of any capital, contains so much more that is 
unfit for any place, in order to breathe the pure air, and 
enjoy the tranquil pleasure of the country. Sir George 
Templemore had returned from his southern journey, and 
made one of the party by express arrangement. 

“ Now, Eve,” said Grace Van Cortlandt, as the boat 
glided along the wharves, “ if it were any person but you, 
I should feel confident of having something to show that 
would extort admiration.” 

“You are safe enough in that respect, for a more imposing 
object in its way, than this very vessel, eye of mine never 
beheld. It is positively the only thing that deserves the 
name of magnificent I have yet seen since our return — un- 
less, indeed, it may be magnificent projects.” 

“ I am glad, dear coz, there is this one magnificent ob- 
ject, then, to satisfy a taste so fastidious.” 

As Grace’s little foot moved, and her voice betrayed vexa- 
tion, the whole party smiled ; for the whole party, while it 
felt the justice of Eve’s observation, saw the real feeling that 
was at the bottom of her cousin’s remark. Sir George, 


HOME AS FOUND. 


131 


however, though he could not conceal from himself the 
truth of what had been said by the one party, and the 
weakness betrayed by the other, had too much sympathy for 
the provincial patriotism of one so young and beautiful, not 
to come to the rescue. 

“You should remember. Miss Van Cortlandt,” he said, 
“ that Miss Effingham has not had the advantage yet of see- 
ing the Delaware, Philadelphia, the noble bays of the south, 
nor so much that is to be found out of the single town of 
New York.” 

“ V ery true, and I hope yet to see her a sincere penitent 
for all her unpatriotic admissions against her own country. 
You have seen the Capitol, Sir George Templemore ; is it 
not truly one of the finest edifices of the world ^ ” 

“You will except St. Peter’s, surely, my child,” observed 
Mr. Effingham, smiling, for he saw that the baronet was 
embarrassed to give a ready answer. 

“ And the Cathedral at Milan,” said Eve, laughing. 

Et le Louvre cried Mademoiselle Viefville, who had 
some such admiration for everything Parisian, as Eve had 
for everything American. 

“ And most especially the north-east corner of the south- 
west end of the north-west wing of Versailles,” said John 
Effingham, in his usual dry manner. 

“ I see you are all against me,” Grace rejoined, “ but I 
hope one day to be able to ascertain for myself the compa- 
rative merits of things. As Nature makes rivers, 1 hope the 
Hudson, at least, will not be found unworthy of your admi- 
ration, gentlemen and ladies.” 

“ You are safe enough there, Grace,” observed Mr. Effing- 
ham ; “ for few rivers, perhaps no river, offer so great and 
so pleasing a variety in so short a distance as this.” 

It was a lovely, bland morning in the last week of May ; 
and the atmosphere was already getting the soft hues 
of summer, or assuming the hazy and solemn calm that 


132 


home as found. 


renders the season so quiet and soothing after the fiercer 
strife of the elements. Under such a sky, the Palisadoes in 
particular looked well ; for though wanting in the terrific 
grandeur of an Alpine nature, and perhaps disproportioned 
to the scenery they adorned, they were hold and peculiar. 

The great velocity of the boat added to the charm of the 
passage, the scene scarce finding time to pall on the eye; 
for no sooner was one object examined in its outlines, than 
it was succeeded by another. 

“ An extraordinary taste is afflicting this country in the 
way of architecture,” said Mr. Effingham, as they stood 
gazing at the eastern shore ; “ nothing but a Grecian temple 
beino- now deemed a suitable residence for a man in these 
classical times. Yonder is a structure, for instance, of beau- 
tiful proportions, and at this distance apparently of precious 
material, and yet it seems better suited to heathen worship 
than to domestic comfort.” 

“ The malady has affected the whole nation,” returned his 
cousin, “ like the spirit of speculation. AVe are passing from 
one extreme to the other, in this as in other things. One 
such temple well placed in a wood, might be a pleasant 
object enough ; but to see a river lined with them, with 
children trundling hoops before their doors, beef carried into 
their kitchens, and smoke issuing, moreover, from those un- 
classical objects chimneys, is too much even for a high taste ; 
one might as well live in a fever. Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, 
who is a wag in his way, informs me that there is one town 
in the interior that has actually a market-house on the plan 
of the Parthenon ! ” 

“ II Capo di Bovo would be a more suitable model for 
such a structure,” said Eve, smiling. “ But I think I have 
heard that the classical taste of our architects is anything 
but rigid.” 

“This was the case, rather than is,” returned John Effing- 
ham, “ as witness all these temples. The country has made 


HOME AS FOUND. 


133 


a quick and a great pas en avant^ in the way of the fine 
arts, and the fact shows what might he done with so ready 
a people under a suitable direction. The stranger who 
comes among us is apt to hold the art of the nation cheap, 
but as all things are comparative, let him inquire into its 
state ten years since, and look at it to-day. The fault just 
now is perhaps to consult the books too rigidly, and to trust 
too little to invention ; for no architecture, and especially 
no domestic architecture, can ever be above serious re- 
proach, until climate, the uses of the edifice, and the situa- 
tion, are respected as leading considerations. Nothing can 
be uglier, per se^ than a Swiss cottage, or anything more 
beautiful under its precise circumstances. As regards these 
mushroom temples which are the offspring of Mammon, let 
them be dedicated to whom they may, I should exactly re- 
verse the opinion and say, that while nothing can be much 
more beautiful, per se^ nothing can be in worse taste than to 
put them where they are.” 

“We shall have an opportunity of seeing what Mr. John 
Effingham can do in the way of architecture,” said Grace, 
who loved to revenge some of her fancied wrongs, by turning 
the tables on her assailant, “ for I understand he has been 
improving on the original labors of that notorious Palladio, 
Master Hiram Doolittle !” 

The whole party laughed, and every eye was turned on 
the gentleman alluded to, expecting his answer. 

“You will remember, good people,” answered the accused 
by implication, “ that my plans were handed over to me from 
my great predecessor, and that they were originally of the 
composite order. If, therefore, the house should turn out to 
be a little complex and mixed, you will do me the justice to 
remember this important fact. At all events, I have con- 
sulted comfort ; and that, I would maintain, in the face of 
Vitruvius himself, is a sine qua non in domestic architec- 
ture.” 


134 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ 1 took a run into Connecticut the other day,” said Sir 
George Templernore, “ and, at a place called New Haven, I 
saw the commencement of a taste that bids fair to make a 
most remarkable town. It is true, you cannot expect struc- 
tures of much pretension in the way of cost and magnitude 
in this country, but, so far as fitness and forms are concerned, 
if what I hear be true, and the next fifty years do as much 
in proportion for that little city, as I understand has been 
done in the last five, it will be altogether a wonder in its 
way. There are some abortions, it is true, but there are also 
some little jewels.” 

The baronet was rewarded for this opinion by a smile 
from Grace, and the conversation changed. As the boat 
approached the mountains. Eve became excited — a very 
American state of the system, by the way — and Grace still 
more anxious. 

“ The view of that bluff* is Italian,” said our heroine, 
pointing down the river at a noble headland of rock, that 
loomed grandly in the soft haze of the tranquil atmosphere. 

“ One seldom sees a finer or a softer outline on the shores 
of the Mediterranean itself.” 

“ But the Highlands, Eve !” whispered the uneasy Grace. 
“ We are entering the mountains.” 

The river narrowed suddenly, and the scenery became 
bolder, but neither Eve nor her father expressed the rapture 
that Grace expected. 

‘^I must confess. Jack,” said the mild, thoughtful Mr. 
Effingham, “ that these rocks strike my eyes as much less 
imposing than formerly. The passage is fine, beyond ques- 
tion, but it is hardly grand scenery.” 

“You never uttered a juster opinion, Ned, though after 
your eye loses some of the forms of the Swiss and Italian 
lakes, and of the shores of Italy, you will think better of 
these. The Highlands are remarkable for their surprises, 
rather than for their grandeur, as we shall presently see. As 


HOME AS FOUND. 


135 


to the latter, it is an affair of feet and inches, and is capable 
of arithmetical demonstration. We have often been on 
lakes, beneath beetling cliffs of from three to six thousand 
feet in height ; whereas, here, the greatest elevation is mate- 
rially less than two. But, Sir George Templemore, and you. 
Miss Effingham, do me the favor to combine your cunning, 
and tell me whence this stream cometh, and whither we are 
to go ?” 

The boat had now approached a point where the river 
was narrowed to a width not much exceeding a quarter of 
a mile, and in that direction in which it was steering, the 
water seemed to become still more contracted until they 
were lost in a sort of bay, that appeared to be closed by 
high hills, through which, however, there were traces of 
something like a passage. 

“ The land in that direction looks as if it had a ravine-like 
entrance,” said the baronet ; V and yet it is scarcely possible 
that a stream like this can flow there !” 

“ If the Hudson truly passes through those mountains,” 
said Eve, “ I will concede all in its favor that you can ask, 
Grace.” 

“ Where else can it pass ?” demanded Grace exult- 
ingly. 

“ Sure enough — I see no other place, and that seems 
insufficient,” 

The two strangers to the river now looked curiously around 
them in every direction. Behind them was a broad and 
lake-like basin, through which they had just passed ; on the 
left, a barrier of precipitous hills, the elevation of which was 
scarcely less than a thousand feet; on their right, a high but 
broken country, studded with villas, farm-houses, and 
hamlets; and in their front the deep but equivocal bay 
mentioned. 

“I see no escape!” cried the baronet, gaily, “unless 
indeed it be by returning.” 


136 


HOME AS FOUND. 


A sudden and broad sheer of the boat caused it to 
turn to the left, and then they whirled round an angle of 
the precipice, and found themselves in a reach of the river, 
between steep declivities, running at right angles to their 
former course. 

“This is one of the surprises of which I spoke,” said 
John Effingham, “and which render the Highlands so 
unique ; for, while the Rhine is very sinuous, it has nothing 
like this.” 

The other travellers agreed in extolling this and many 
similar features of the scenery, and Grace was delighted; for, 
warm-hearted, affectionate, and true, Grace loved her coun- 
try like a relative or a friend, and took an honest pride in 
hearing its praises. The patriotism of Eve, if a word of a 
meaning so lofty can be applied to feelings of this nature, 
was more discriminating from necessity, her tastes having 
been formed in a higher school, and her means of compari- 
son being so much more ample. At W^est Point they stop- 
ped for the night, and here everybody was in honest raptures; 
Grace, who had often visited the place before, being actually 
the least so of the whole party. 

“ Now, Eve, I know that you do love your country,” she 
said, as she slipped an arm affectionately through that of 
her cousin. “ This is feeling and speaking like an American 
girl, and as Eve Effingham should !” 

Eve laughed, but she had discovered that the provincial 
feeling was so strong in Grace, that its discussion would 
probably do no good. She dwelt, therefore, with sincere 
eloquence on the beauties of the place, and for the first time 
since they had met, her cousin felt as if there was no longer 
any point of dissension between them. 

The following morning was the first of June, and it was 
another of those drowsy, dreamy days, that so much aid a 
landscape. The party embarked in the first boat that 
came up, and as they entered Newburgh bay, the triumph 


HOME AS FOUND. 


137 


of the river was established. This is a spot, in sooth, that 
has few equals in any region, though Eve still insisted that 
the excellence of the view was in its softness rather than in 
its grandeur. The country-houses, or boxes, for few could 
claim to be much more, were neat, well placed, and exceed- 
ingly numerous. The heights around the town of New- 
burgh, in particular, were fairly dotted with them, though 
Mr. Effingham shook his head as he saw one Grecian temple 
appear after another. 

“As we recede from the influence of the vulgar archi- 
tects,” he said, “we find imitation taking the place of in- 
struction. Many of these buildings are obviously dispropor- 
tioned, and then, like vulgar pretension of any sort, Grecian 
architecture produces less pleasure than even Dutch.” 

“I am surprised at discovering how little of a Dutch 
character remains in this state,” said the baronet ; “I can 
scarcely trace that people in ?ny thing, and yet, I believe, 
they had the moulding of your society, having carried the 
colony through its infancy. 

“ When you know us better you will be surprised at dis- 
covering how little of anything remains a dozen years,” 
returned John Effingham. “ Our towns pass away in genera- 
tions like their people, and even the names of a place under- 
go periodical mutations, as well as everything else. It is 
getting to be a predominant feeling in the American nature, 

I fear, to love change.” 

“But, cousin Jack, do you not overlook causes, in your 
censure? That a nation advancing as fast as this in wealth 
and numbers, should desire better structures than its fathers 
had either the means or the taste to build, and that names 
should change with persons, are both quite in rule.” 

“ All very true, though it does not account for the pecu- 
liarity I mean. Take Templeton, for instance; this little 
place has not essentially increased in numbers within my 
memory, and yet fiilly one half its names are new. When 


138 


HOME AS FOUND. 


he reaches his own home, your father will not know even 
the names of one-half his neighbors. Not only will he 
meet with new faces, but he will find new feelings, new 
opinions in the place of traditions that he may love, an 
indifference to everything hut the present moment, and 
even those who may have better feelings, and a wish to 
cherish all that belongs to the holier sentiments of man, 
afraid to utter them, lest they meet with no sympathy.” 

“No cats, as Mr. Bragg would say.” 

“ Jack is one who never paints en heau'"’ said Mr. Effing- 
ham. “ I should be very sorry to believe that a dozen short 
years can have made all these essential changes in my 
neighborhood.” 

“ A dozen years, Ned! You name an age. Speak of 
three or four, if you wish to find anything in America where 
you left it ! The whole country is in such a constant state 
of mutation, that I can only liken it to the game of children, 
in which, as one quits his corner, another runs into it, and 
he that finds no corner to get into, is the laughingstock of 
the others. Fancy that dwelling the residence of one man 
from childhood to old age ; let him then quit it for a year 
or two, and on his return he would find another in posses- 
sion, who would treat him as an impertinent intruder, 
because he had been absent two years. An American 
‘ always,’ in the way of usages, extends no further back than 
eighteen months. In short, everything is condensed into 
the present moment; and services, character, for evil as 
well as good unhappily, and all other things cease to have 
weight, except as they influence the interests of the day.” 

“ This is the coloring of a professed cynic,” observed Mr. 
Effingham, smiling. 

“But the law, Mr. John Effingham,” eagerly inquired the 
baronet — “ surely the law would not permit a stranger to 
intrude in this manner on the rights of an owner.” 

“ The law-books would do him that friendly oflSce, per- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


139 


haps, but what is a precept in the face of practices so ruth- 
less ! ‘ Les absents out toujour s tortj is a maxim of peculiar 
application in America ” 

“ Property is as secure in this country as in any other, 
Sir George ; and you will make allowances for the humors 
of the present annotator ” 

“ Well, well, Ned ; I hope you will find everything 
couleur de rose, as you appear to expect. You will get quiet 
possession of your house, it is true ; for I have put a Cerbe- 
rus in it that is quite equal to his task, difficult as it may be, 
and who has quite as much relish for a bi!i of costs as any 
squatter can have for a trespass ; but without some such 
guardian of your rights, I would not answer for it that you 
would not be compelled to sleep in the highway.” 

“I trust Sir George Templemore knows how to make 
allowances for Mr. John Efiingham’s pictures,” cried Grace, 
unable to refrain from expresspg her discontent any longer. 

A laugh succeeded, and the beauties of the river again 
attracted their attention. As the boat continued to ascend, 
Mr. Effingham triumphantly afiirmed that the appearance 
of things more than equalled his expectations, while both 
Eve and the baronet declared that a succession of lovelier 
landscapes could hardly be presented to the eye. 

“ Whited sepulchres !” muttered John Efiingham. “ All 
outside. Wait until you get a view of the deformity 
within.” 

As the boat approached Albany, Eve expressed her satis- 
faction in still stronger terms, and Grace was made perfectly 
happy by hearing her and Sir George declare that the place 
entirely exceeded their expectations. 

“ I am glad to find. Eve, that you are so fast recovering 
your American feelings,” said her beautiful cousin, after one 
of those expressions of agreeable disappointment, as they 
were seated at a late dinner in an inn. “You have at last 
found words to praise the exterior of Albany ; and I hope. 


140 


HOME AS POUND. 


by tbe time we return, you will be disposed to see New 
York with different eyes.” 

“ I expected to see a capital in New York, Grace, and in 
this I have been grievously disappointed. Instead of finding 
the tastes, tone, conveniences, architecture, streets, churches, 
shops, and society of a capital, I found a huge expansion of 
common-place things, a commercial town, and the most mixed 
and the least regulated society that I had ever met with. 
Expecting so much, where so little was found, disappoint- 
ment was natural. But in Albany, although a political 
capital, I knew the nature of the government too well, to 
expect more than a provincial town ; and in this respect 
I have found one much above the level of similar places in 
other parts of the world. I acknowledge that Albany has 
as much exceeded my expectations in one sense, as Nev/ 
York has fallen short of them in another.” 

“ In this simple fact. Sir George Templemore,” said Mr. 
Effingham, “ you may read the real condition of the coun- 
try. In all that requires something more than usual, a defi- 
ciency ; in all that is deemed an average, better than com- 
mon. The tendency is to raise everything that is else- 
where degraded to a respectable height, when there com- 
mences an attraction of gravitation that draws all towards 
the centre — a little closer too, than could be wished, per- 
haps.” 

“ Aye, aye, Ned ! This is very pretty, with your attrac- 
tions and gravitations ; but wait and judge for yourself 
of this average, of which you now speak so compla- 
cently.” 

“Nay, John, I borrowed the image from you. If it be 
not accurate, I shall hold you responsible for its defects.” 

“ They tell me,” said Eve, “ that all American villages are 
the towns in miniature ; children dressed in hoops and wigs. 
Is this so, Grace ?” 

“ A little. There is too much desire to imitate the 


HOME AS FOUND. 


141 


towns, perhaps, and possibly too little feeling for country 
life.” 

“ This is a very natural consequence, after all, of people’s 
living entirely in such places,” observed Sir George Temple- 
more. “ One sees much of this on the continent of Europe, 
because the country population is purely a country popula- 
tion ; and less of it in England perhaps, because those who 
are at the head of society, consider town and country as 
very distinct things.” 

“Za campagne est vraiment delicieuse en Amerique^' 
exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, in whose eyes the whole 
country was little more than campagne. 

The next morning our travellers proceeded by the way of 
Schenectady, whence they ascended the beautiful valley of 
the Mohawk, by means of a canal boat, the cars that now 
rattle along its length not having commenced their active 
flights at that time. With the scenery every one was 
delighted ; for while it differed essentially from that the 
party had passed through the previous day, it was scarcely 
less beautiful. 

At a point where the necessary route diverged from the 
direction of the canal, carriages of Mr. Effingham’s were in 
readiness to receive the travellers, and here they were also 
favored by the presence of Mr. Bragg, who fancied such an 
attention might be agreeable to the young ladies, as well as 
to his employer. 


142 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER IX. 


“ Tell me, where is fancy bred — 

Or in the heart, or in the head ? 

How begot, how nourished ?” 

Song in Shakspeabe. 


The travellers were several hours ascending into the 
mountains, by a country road that could scarcely he sur^^ 


passed by a French wheel-track of the same sort ; for Made- 
moiselle Viefville protested twenty times in the course of 
the morning, that it was a thousand pities Mr. Effingham^ 
had not the privilege of the corvee^ that he might cause the* 
approach of his terres to be kept in better condition. At 
length they reached the summit — a point where the waters 
began to flow south — when the road became tolerably level. 
From this time their progress became more rapid, and they, 
continued to advance two or three hours longer at a steady 
pace. 

Aristabulus now informed his companions that, in obedi- 
ence to instructions from John Effingham, he had ordered 
the coachmen to take a road that led a little from the 
direct line of their journey, and that they had now been 
travelling for some time on the more ancient route to Tem- 
pleton. 

“ I was aware of this,” said Mr. Effingham, “ though igno- 
rant of the reason. We are on the great western turnpike.’’^ 

“ Certainly, sir, and all according to Mr. John’s request. 
There would have been a great saving in distance, and, 
agreeably to my notion, in horse-flesh, had we quietly gone 
down the banks of the lake.” 




HOME AS FOUND. 


143 


“ Jack will explain his own meaning,” returned Mr. Effing- 
ham, “ and he has stopped the other carriage, and alighted 
with Sir George — a hint, I fancy, that we are to follow their 
example.” 

Sure enough the second carriage was now stopped, and 
Sir George hastened to open its door. 

“Mr. John Effingham, who acts as cicerone,” cried the 
baronet, “ insists that every one shall put jpied d terre at 
this precise spot, keeping the important reason still a secret 
in the recesses of his own bosom.” 

The ladies complied, and the carriages were ordered to 
proceed with the domestics, leaving the rest of the travellers 
by themselves, apparently in the heart of the forest. 

“ It is to be hoped. Mademoiselle, there are no banditti in 
America,” said Eve, as they looked around them at the 
novel situation in which they were placed, apparently by a 
pure caprice of her cousin. < 

“ Ou des sauvages^"’ returned the governess, who, in spite 
of her ordinary intelligence and great good sense, had several 
times that day cast uneasy and stolen glances into the bits 
of dark wood they had occasionally passed. 

“ I will insure your purses and your scalps, mesdames^'"’ cried 
John Effingham, gaily, “ on condition that you will follow 
me implicitly ; and by way of pledge for my faith, I 
solicit the honor of supporting Mademoiselle Viefville on 
this unworthy arm.” 

The governess laughingly accepted the conditions. Eve 
took the arm of her father, and Sir George offered his to 
Grace ; Aristabulus, to his surprise, being left to walk entirely 
alone. It struck him, however, as so singularly improper 
that a young lady should be supported on such an occasion 
by her own father, that he frankly and gallantly proposed 
to Mr. Effingham to relieve him of his burden, an offer that 
was declined with quite as much distinctness as it was 
made. 


144 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ I suppose Cousin Jack has a meaning to his melo- 
drama,” said Eve, as they entered the forest, “and I dare 
say, dearest father, that you are behind the scenes, though I 
perceive determined secresy in your face.” 

“John may have a cave to show us, or some tree of 
extraordinary height ; such things existing in the country.” 

“We are very confiding. Mademoiselle, for I detect 
treachery in every face around us. Even Miss Van Cort- 
landt has the air of a conspirator, and seems to be in league 
with something or somebody. Pray Heaven it be not with 
wolves.” 

“ Des loups ! ” exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, stop- 
ping short, with a mien so alarmed as to excite a general 
laugh — “ est-ce qu’il y a des loups et des sangliers dans cette 
foret?” 

“ No, Mademoiselle,” returned her companion — “ this is 
only barbarous America, and not civilized France. Were 
we in le departement de la Seine, we might apprehend some 
such dangers, but being merely in the mountains of Otsego, 
we are reasonably safe.” 

“ Je I’espere,” murmured the governess, as she reluctantly 
and distrustfully proceeded, glancing her eyes incessantly to 
the right and left. The path now became steep and rather 
difficult ; so much so, indeed, as to indispose them all to 
conversation. It led beneath the branches of lofty pines, 
though there existed on every side of them proofs of the 
ravages man had committed in that noble forest. At length 
they were compelled to stop for breath, after having as- 
cended considerably above the road they had left. 

“ I ought to have said that the spot where we entered on 
this path is memorable in the family history,” observed 
John Effingham to Eve — “for it was the precise spot where 
one of our predecessors lodged a shot in the shoulder of 
another.” 

“ Then I know precisely where we are ! ” cried our 


HOME AS FOUND 


145 


heroine, “ though I cannot yet imagine why we are led into 
this forest, unless it be to visit some spot hallowed by a deed 
of Natty Bumpo’s ! ” 

“ Time will solve this mystery, as well as all others. Let 
us proceed.” 

Again they ascended, and after a few more minutes of 
trial they reached a sort of table-land, and drew near an 
opening in the trees, where a small circle had evidently 
been cleared of its wood, though it was quite small and 
untilled. Eve looked curiously about her, as did all the 
others to whom the place was novel, and she was lost in 
doubt. 

“ There seems to be a void beyond us,” said the baronet. 
“ I rather think Mr. John Effingham has led us to the verge 
of a* view.” 

At this suggestion the party moved on in a body, and 
were well rewarded for the tcil of the ascent, by a cowp 
d/oeil that was almost Swiss in character and beauty. 

“ Now do I know where we are,” exclaimed Eve, clasping 
her hands in rapture — “ this is the ‘ Vision,’ and yonder, 
indeed, is our blessed home.” 

The whole artifice of the surprise was exposed, and after 
the first bursts of pleasure had subsided, all to whom the 
scene was novel felt that they would not have missed this 
piquante introduction to the valley of the Susquehannah on 
any account. That the reader Tnay understand the cause 
of so much delight, and why John Effingham had prepared 
this scene for his friends, we shall stop to give a short de- 
scription of the objects that first met the eyes of the 
travellers. 

It is known that they were in a small open spot in a 
forest, and on the verge of a precipitous mountain. The 
trees encircled them on every side but one, and on that lay 
the panorama, although the tops of tall pines, that grew in 
lines almost parallel to the declivity, rose nearly to a level 

1 


146 


HOME AS FOUND. 


with the eye. Hundreds of feet beneath them, directly in 
front, and stretching leagues to the right, was a lake em- 
bedded in woods and hills. On the side next the travellers 
a fringe of forest broke the line of water ; tree tops that in- 
tercepted the view of the shores ; and on the other, high 
broken hills, or low mountains rather, that were covered 
with farms, beautifully relieved by patches of wood, in a 
way to resemble the scenery of a vast park or a royal 
pleasure-ground, limited the landscape. High valleys lay 
among these uplands, and in every direction comfortable 
dwellings dotted the fields. The dark hues of the ever- 
greens, with which all the heights near the water were 
shaded, were in soft contrast to the livelier green of the 
other foliage, while the meadows and pastures were luxuri- 
ant with a verdure unsurpassed by that of England. Bays 
and points added to the exquisite outline of the glassy lake 
on this shore, while one of the former withdrew towards the 
north-west, in a way to leave the eye doubtful whether it 
was the termination of the transparent sheet or not. To- 
wards the south, bold, varied, but cultivated hills, also 
bounded the view, all teeming with the fruits of human 
labor, and yet all relieved by pieces of wood in the way 
already mentioned, so as to give the entire region the cha- 
racter of park scenery. A wide, deep, even valley com- 
menced at the southern end of the lake, or nearly opposite 
to the stand of our travellers, and stretched away south, 
until concealed by a curvature in the ranges of the moun- 
tains. Like all the mountain tops, this valley was verdant, 
peopled, wooded in places, though less abundant than the 
hills, and teeming with the signs of life. Roads wound 
through its peaceful retreats, and might be traced working 
their way along the glens, and up the weary ascents of the 
mountains, for miles in every direction. 

At the northern termination of this lovely valley, and 
immediately on the margin of tha» lake, lay the village of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


147 


Templeton, immediately under the eyes of the party. The 
distance, in an air line, from their stand to the centre of the 
dwellings, could not be much less than a mile, but the air 
was so pure, and the day so calm, that it did not seem so 
far. The children and even the dogs were seen running 
about the streets, while the shrill cries of boys at their 
gambols ascended distinctly to the ear. 

As this was the Templeton of the Pioneers, and the pro- 
gress of society during half a century is connected with the 
circumstance, we shall give the reader a more accurate 
notion of its present state than can be obtained from inci- 
dental allusions. AVe undertake the office more readily, be- 
cause this is not one of those places that shoot up in a day, 
under the unnatural efforts of speculation, or which, favored 
by peculiar advantages in the way of trade, becomes a pre- 
cocious city while the stumps still stand in its streets ; but 
a sober county town, that has advanced steadily pari passu 
with the surrounding country, and offers a fair specimen of 
the more regular advancement of the whole nation in its 
progress towards civilization. 

The appearance of Templeton, as seen from the height 
where it is now exhibited to the reader, was generally beau- 
tiful and map-like. There might be a dozen streets, princi- 
pally crossing each other at right angles, though sufficiently 
relieved from this precise delineation to prevent a starched 
formality. Perhaps the greater part of the buildings were 
painted white, as is usual in the smaller American towns ; 
though a better taste was growing in the place, and many 
of the dwellings had the graver and chaster hues of the grey 
stones of which they were built. A general air of neatness 
and comfort pervaded the place, it being as unlike a conti- 
nental European town, south of the Rhine, in this respect, as 
possible, if indeed we except the picturesque bourgs of 
Switzerland. In England, Templeton would be termed a 
small market-town, so far as size was concerned ; in France, 


148 


HOME AS FOUND. 


a large bourg j while in America it was, in common parlance 
and legal appellation, styled a village. 

Of the dwellings of the place, fully twenty were of a 
quality that denoted ease in the condition of their occupants, 
and bespoke the habits of those accustomed to live in a 
manner superior to the oi poUoi of the human race. Of 
these, some six or eight had small lawns, carriage sweeps, 
and the other similar appliances of houses that were not 
deemed unworthy of the honor of bearing names of their 
own. No less than five little steeples, towers, or belfries, 
for neither word is exactly suitable to the architectural prodi- 
gies we wish to describe, rose above the roofs, denoting the 
sites of the same number of places of worship ; an American 
village usually exhibiting as many of these proofs of liberty 
of conscience — caprices of conscience would perhaps be a 
better term — as dollars and cents will by any process render 
attainable. Several light carriages, such as were suitable 
to a mountainous country, were passing to and fro in the 
streets; and here and there a single horse vehicle was 
fastened before the door of a shop or a lawyer’s office, 
denoting the presence of some customer or client from 
among the adjacent hills. 

Templeton was not sufficiently a thoroughfare to possess 
one of those monstrosities, a modern American tavern, or a 
structure whose roof should overtop that of all its neighbors. 
Still its inns were of respectable size, well piazzaed, to use a 
word of our own invention, and quite enough frequented. 

Near the centre of the place, in grounds of rather limited 
extent, still stood that model of the composite order, which 
owed its existence to the combined knowledge and taste, 
in the remoter ages of the region, of Mr. Eichard Jones and 
Mr. Hiram Doolittle. AVe will not say that it had been 
modernized, for the very reverse was the elfect, in appear- 
ance at least ; but it had since undergone material changes 
under the more instructed intelligence of John Effingham. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


• 149 


This building was so conspicuous by position and size, 
that as soon as they had taken in glimpses of the entire 
landscape, which was not done without constant murmurs of 
pleasure, every eye became fastened on it, as the focus of 
interest. A long and common silence denoted how general 
was this feeling, and the whole party took seats on stumps 
and fallen trees before a syllable was uttered after the build- 
ing had attracted their gaze. Aristabulus alone permitted 
his look to wander, and he was curiously examining the 
countenance of Mr. Effingham, near whom he sat, with a 
longing to discover whether the expression was that of 
approbation or of disapprobation of the fruits of his cousin’s 
genius. 

“ Mr. John Effingham has considerably regenerated and 
revivified, not to say transmogrified, the old dwelling,” he 
said, cautiously using terms that might leave his own opinion 
of the changes doubtful. “ The -^'ork of his hand has excited 
some speculation, a good deal of inquiry, and a little conver- 
sation throughout the country. It has almost produced an 
excitement !” 

“ As my house came to me from my father,” said Mr. 
Effingham, across whose mild and handsome face a smile 
was gradually stealing, “ I knew its history, and when called 
on for an explanation of its singularities, could refer all to 
the composite order. But you. Jack, have supplanted all 
this by a style of your own, for which I shall be compelled 
to consult the authorities for explanations.” 

“ Do you dislike my taste, Ned ? To my eye, now, the 
structure has no bad appearance from this spot !” 

“ Fitness and comfort are indispensable requisites for 
domestic architecture, to use your own argument. Are you 
quite sure that yonder castellated roof, for instance, is quite 
suited to the deep snows of these mountains ?” 

John Effingham whistled, and endeavored to look uncon- 
cerned ; for he well knew that the very first winter had 


150 


HOME AS FOUND. 


demonstrated the unsuitableness of his plans for such a cli- 
mate. He had actually felt disposed to cause the whole to 
he altered privately at his own expense ; but, besides feeling 
certain his cousin would resent a liberty that inferred his 
indisposition to pay for his own buildings, he had a reluc- 
tance to admit, in the face of the whole country, that he 
had made so capital a mistake, in a branch of art in which 
he prided himself rather more than common ; almost as 
much as his predecessor in the occupation, Mr. Richard 
Jones. 

“ If you are not pleased with your own dwelling, Ned,” 
he answered, “you can have at least the consolation of 
looking at some of your neighbors’ houses, and of perceiving 
that they are a great deal worse off. Of all abortions of this 
sort, to my taste, a Grecian abortion is the worst. Mine is 
only Gothic, and that, too, in a style so modest, that I should 
think it might pass unmolested.” 

It was so unusual to see John Effingham on the defensive, 
that the whole party smiled, while Aristabulus, who stood 
in salutary fear of his caustic tongue, both smiled and won- 
dered. 

“ Nay, do not mistake me, John,” returned the proprietor 
of the edifice under discussion. “ It is not your taste that I 
call in question, but your provision against the seasons. In 
the way of mere outward show, I really think you deserve 
liigh praise ; for you have transformed a very ugly dwelling 
into one that is almost handsome, in despite of proportions 
and the necessity of regulating the alterations by prescribed 
limits. Still, I think there is a little of the composite left 
about even the exterior.” 

“ I hope, cousin J ack, you have not innovated on the 
interior,” cried Eve ; “ for I think I shall remember that, 
and nothing is more pleasant than the cattism of seeing 
objects that you remember in childhood. Pleasant I mean 
to those whom the mania of mutations has not affected.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


151 


“ Do not be alarmed, Miss Effingham,” replied her kins- 
man, with a pettishness of manner that was altogether extra- 
ordinary in a man whose mien, in common, was so singu- 
larly composed and masculine ; “ you will find all that you 
knew when a kitten, in its proper place. I could not rake 
together again the ashes of Queen Dido, which were scat- 
tered to the four winds of heaven, I fear ; nor could I dis- 
cover a reasonably good bust of Homer; but respectable 
substitutes are provided, and some of them have the great 
merit of puzzling all beholders to tell to whom they belong, 
which I believe was the great characteristic of most of Mr. 
Jones’s invention.” 

“ I am glad to see, cousin Jack, that you have at least 
managed to give a very respectable ‘ cloud color’ to the 
whole house.” 

“ Aye, it lay between that and an invisible green,” the 
gentleman answered, losing his ^momentary spleen in his 
natural love of the ludicrous ; “ but finding that the latter 
would be only too conspicuous in the droughts that some- 
times prevail in this climate, 1 settled down into the yellow- 
ish drab. That is, indeed, not unlike some of the rich 
volumes of the clouds.” 

“ On the whole, I think you are fairly entitled, as Stead- 
fast Dodge, Esquire, would say, to ‘the meed of our 
thanks.’ ” 

“ What a lovely spot !” exclaimed Mr. Effingham, who 
had already ceased to think of his own dwelling, and whose 
eye was roaming over the soft landscape, athwart which the 
lustre of a June noontide was throwing its richest glories. 
“ This is truly a place where one might fancy repose and 
content were to be found for the evening of a troubled 
life.” 

“ Indeed, I have seldom looked upon a more bewitching 
scene,” answered the baronet. “ The lakes of Cumberland 
wilbscarce compete with this I” 


152 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Or that of Brienz, or Lungeren, or Nemi,” said Eve, 
smiling in a way that the other understood to be a hit at 
his nationality. 

“C’est charmant!” murmured Mademoiselle Viefville. 
“ On pense a I’eternite, dans une telle calme !” 

“The farm you can see lying near yonder wood, Mr. 
Effingham,” coolly observed Aristabulus, “ sold last spring 
for thirty dollars the acre, and was bought for twenty the 
summer before !” 

“ Chacun a son gout !” said Eve. 

“ And yet I fear this glorious scene is marred by the 
envy, rapacity, uncharitableness, and all the other evil 
passions of man !” continued the more philosophical Mr. 
Effingham. “ Perhaps it were better as it was so lately, 
when it lay in the solitude and peace of the wilderness, the 
resort of birds and beasts.” 

“AVho prey on each other, dearest father, just as the 
worst of our own species prey on their fellows.” 

“True, child — true. And yet I never gaze on one of 
these scenes of holy calm, without wishing that the great 
tabernacle of nature might be tenanted only by those who 
have a feeling for its perfection.” 

“ Do you see the lady,” said Aristabulus, “ that is just 
coming out on the lawn, in front of the ‘ Wigwam V ” for 
that was the name John Effingham had seen fit to give the 
altered and amended abode. “ Here, Miss Effingham, more 
in a line with the top of the pine beneath us.” 

“ I see the person you mean ; she seems to be looking in 
this direction.” 

“You are quite right. Miss. She knows that we are to 
stop on the Vision, and no doubt sees us. That lady is your 
father’s cook. Miss Effingham, and is thinking of the late 
breakfast that has been ordered to be in readiness against 
our arrival.” 

Eve concealed her amusement — for, by this time, she had 


HOME AS FOUND. 


153 


discovered that Mr. Bragg had a way peculiar to himself, or 
at least to his class, of using many of the commoner words 
of the English language. It would perhaps be expecting 
too much of Sir George Templemore, not to expect him to 
smile on such an occasion. 

“ Ah !” exclaimed Aristabulus, pointing towards the lake, 
across which several skiffs were stealing, some in one direc- 
tion, and some in another — “there is a boat out that I 
think must contain the poet.” 

“ Poet !” repeated John Effingham. “ Have we reached 
that pass at Templeton ?” 

“ Lord, Mr. John Effingham, you must have very con- 
tracted notions of the place, if you think a poet a great 
novelty in it. Why, sir, we have caravans of wild beasts 
nearly every summer I” 

“ This is, indeed, a step in advance., of which I was igno- 
rant. Here then, in a region that so lately was tenanted 
by beasts of prey, beasts are already brought as curiosities. 
You perceive the state of the country in this fact. Sir 
George Templemore.” 

“ I do, indeed ; but I should like to hear from Mr. Bragg, 
what sort of animals are in these caravans ?” 

“ All sorts, from monkeys to elephants. The last had a 
rhinoceros.” 

“ Rhinoceros ! Why, there was but one, lately, in all 
Europe. Neither the Zoological Gardens nor the Jar din des 
Plantes had a rhinoceros ! I never saw but one, and that 
was in a caravan at Rome, that travelled between St. Peters- 
burgh and Naples.” 

“ Well, sir, we have rhinoceroses here ; and monkeys, and 
zebras, and poets, and painters, and congress-men, and bishops, 
and governors, and all other sorts of creatures.” 

“ And who may the particular poet be, Mr. Bragg,” Eve 
asked, “ who honors Templeton with his presence just at 
this moment ?” 


164 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ That is more than I can tell you, Miss ; for though 
some eight or ten of us have done little else than try to dis- 
cover his name for the last week, we have not got even 
as far as that one fact. He and the gentleman who tra- 
vels with him are both uncommonly close on such mat- 
ters, though I think we have some as good catechizers 
in Templeton as can be found anywhere within fifty miles 
of us.” 

“ There is another gentleman with him ; do you suspect 
them both of being poets ?” 

“ Oh, no. Miss, the other is the waiter of the poet ; that 
we know, as he serves him at dinner, and otherwise superin- 
tends his concerns, such as brushing his clothes, and keep- 
ing his room in order.” 

“ This is being in luck for a poet, for they are of a class 
that are a little apt to neglect the decencies. May I ask 
why you suspect the master of being a poet, if the man be 
so assiduous ?” 

“ Why, what else can he be ? In the first place. Miss 
Effingham, he has no name.” 

“ That is a reason in point,” said John Eflfingham ; “ very 
few poets having names.” 

“ Then he is out on the lake half his time, gazing up at 
the ‘ Silent Pine,’ or conversing with the ‘ Speaking Rocks,’ 
or drinking at the ‘ Eairy Spring.’ ” 

“ All suspicious, certainly ; especially the dialogue with 
the rocks ; though not absolutely conclusive.” 

“ But, Mr. John Effingham, the man does not take his 
food like other people. He rises early, and is out on the 
water or up in the forest all the morning, and then returns 
to eat his breakfast in the middle of the forenoon ; he goes 
into the woods again, or on the lake, and comes back to 
dinner, just as I take my tea.” 

“ This settles the matter. Any man who presumes to do 
all this, Mr. Bragg, deserves to be called by some harder 


HOME AS FOUND. 


155 


name even tiian that of a poet. Pray, sir, how long has 
this eccentric person been a resident of Templeton ?” 

“ Hist — there he is, as I am a sinner ; and it was not he 
and the other gentlemen that were in the boat.” 

The rebuked manner of Aristabulus and the dropping of 
his voice induced the whole party to look in the direction 
of his eye, and sure enough a gentleman approached them, 
in the dress a man of the world is apt to assume in the 
country, an attire of itself that was sufficient to attract com- 
ment in a place where the general desire was to be as much 
like town as possible, though it was sufficiently neat and 
simple. He came from the forest, along the table-land that 
crowned the mountain for some distance, following one of 
the footpaths that the admirers of the beautiful landscape 
have made all over that pleasant w'ood. As he came out 
into the cleared spot, seeing it already in possession of a 
party, he bowed, and was passing on with a delicacy that 
Mr. Bragg would be apt to deem eccentric, when suddenly 
stopping, he gave a look of intense and eager interest at the 
whole party, smiled, advanced rapidly nearer, and dis- 
covered his entire person. 

“ I ought not to be surprised,” he said, as he advanced so 
near as to render doubt any longer impossible, “ for I knew 
you were expected, and indeed waited for your arrival, and 
yet this meeting has been so unexpected as to leave me 
scarcely in possession of my faculties.” 

It is needless to dwell upon the warmth and number of 
the greetings. To the surprise of Mr. Bragg, his poet was 
not only known but evidently much esteemed by all the 
party, with the exception of Miss Van Cortlandt, to whom 
he was cordially presented by the name of Mr. Powis. Eve 
managed, by an effort of womanly pride, to suppress the 
violence of her emotions, and the meeting passed off as one 
of mutual surprise and pleasure, without any exhibition of 
unusual feeling to attract comment. 


156 


HOME AS FOUND 


“ We ought to express our wonder at finding you here 
before us, my dear young friend,” said Mr. Effingham, still 
holding Paul’s hand aflfectionately between his own ; “ and 
even now that my own eyes assure me of the fact, I can 
hardly believe you would arrive at New York, and quit it 
without giving us the satisfaction of seeing you.” 

“ In that, sir, you are not wrong ; certainly nothing 
could have deprived me of that pleasure, but the knowledge 
that it would not have been agreeable to yourselves. My 
sudden appearance here, however, will be without mystery, 
when I tell you that I returned from England by the way 
of Quebec, the Great Lakes, and the Falls, having been 
induced by my friend Ducie to take that route, in conse- 
quence of his ship’s being sent to the St. Lawrence. A de- 
sire for novelty, and particularly a desire to see the celcv 
brated cataract, which is almost the lion of America, did 
the rest.” 

“We are glad to have you with us on any terms, and I 
take it as particularly kind that you did not pass my door. 
You have been here some days ?” 

“ Quite a week. On reaching Utica I diverged from the 
great route to see this place, not anticipating the pleasure 
of meeting you here so early ; but hearing you were expected, 
I determined to remain, with a hope, which I rejoice to find 
was not vain, that you would not be sorry to see an old 
fellow-traveller again.” 

Mr. Effingham pressed his hands warmly again before he 
relinquished them; an assurance of welcome that Paul 
received with thrilling satisfaction. 

“ I have been in Templeton almost long enough,” the 
young man resumed, laughing, “ to set up as a candidate for 
the public favor, if I rightly understand the claims of a 
denizen. By what I can gather from casual remarks, the 
old proverb that ‘the new broom sweeps clean,’ applies with 
singular fidelity throughout all this region.” 


HOME AS POUND 


157 


“ Have you a copy of your last ode, or a spare epigram, 
in your pocket ?” inquired John Effingham. 

Paul looked surprised, and Aristabulus, for a novelty, was 
a little dashed. Paul looked surprised, as a matter of course, 
for, although he had been a little annoyed by the curiosity 
that is apt to haunt a village imagination, since his arrival 
in Templeton, he did not in the least suspect that his love 
of a beautiful nature had been imputed to devotion to the 
muses. Perceiving, however, by the smiles of those around 
him, that there was more meant than was expressed, he had 
the tact to permit the explanation to come from the person 
who had put the question, if it were proper it should come 
at all. 

“ We will defer the great pleasure that is in reserve,” 
continued John Effingham, “ to another time. At present, 
it strikes me that the lady of the lawn is getting to be im- 
patient, and the dejeuner cb la fourchette, that I have had the 
precaution to order, is probably waiting our appearance. It 
must be eaten, though under the penalty of being thought 
moonstruck rhymers by the whole State. Come, Ned ; if 
you are sufficiently satisfied with looking at the Wigwam in 
a bird’s-eye view, we will descend and put its beauties to 
the severer test of a close examination.” 

This proposal was readily accepted, though all tore them- 
selves from that lovely spot with reluctance, and not until 
they had paused to take another look. 

“Fancy the shores of this lake lined with villas,” said 
Eve, “ church-towers raising their dark heads among these 
hills ; each mountain crowned with a castle or a crumbling 
ruin, and all the other accessories of an old state of society, 
and what Avould then be the charms of the view !” 

“ Less than they are to-day. Miss Effingham,” said Paul 
Powis; “for though poetry requires — you all smile, is it 
forbidden to touch on such subjects ?” 

“ Not at all, so it be done in wholesome rhymes,” returned 


158 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the baronet. “You ought to know that you are expected 
even to speak in doggerel.” 

Paul ceased, and the whole party walked away from the 
place laughing and light-hearted. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


159 


CHAPTER X. 


“It is the spot, I came to seek 
My father’s ancient burial place — 

It is the spot — I know it well, 

Of which our old traditions tell.” 

Bryant. 


From the day after their arrival in New York, or that on 
which the account of the arrests by the English cruiser had 
appeared in the journals, little had been said by any of our 
party concerning Paul Powis, or of the extraordinary manner 
in which he had left the packet, at the very moment she 
was about to enter her haven. It is true that Mr. Dodge, 
arrived at Dodgeopolis, had dilated on the subject in his 
hebdomadal, with divers additions and conjectures of his 
own, and this, too, in a way to attract a good deal of atten- 
tion in the interior ; but, it being a rule with those who are 
supposed to dwell at the fountain of foreign intelligence not 
to receive anything from those who ought not to be better 
informed than themselves, the Effinghams and their friends 
had never heard of his account of the matter. 

While all thought the incident of the sudden return 
extraordinary, no one felt disposed to judge the young man 
harshly. The gentlemen knew that military censure, how- 
ever unpleasant, did not always imply moral unworthiness ; 
and as for the ladies, they retained too lively a sense of his 
skill and gallantry to wish to imagine evil on grounds so 
slight and vague. Still, it had been impossible altogether 
to prevent the obtrusion of disagreeable surmises, and all 
now sincerely rejoiced at seeing their late companion once 


160 


HOME AS FOUND. 


more among them, seemingly in a state of mind that 
announced neither guilt nor degradation. 

On quitting the mountain, Mr. Effingham, who had a 
tender regard for Grace, offered her his arm as he would 
have given it to a second daughter, leaving Eve to the care 
of John Effingham. Sir George attended to Mademoiselle 
Viefville, and Paul walked by the side of our heroine and 
her cousin, leaving Aristabulus to be what he himself called 
a “ miscellaneous companion or, in other words, to thrust 
himself into either set, as inclination or accident might 
induce. Of course the parties conversed as they walked, 
though those in advance would occasionally pause to say a 
word to those in the rear ; and, as they descended, one or 
two changes occurred to which we may have occasion to 
allude. 

“I trust you have had pleasant passages,” said John 
Effingham to Paul, as soon as they were separated in the 
manner just mentioned. “ Three trips across the Atlantic 
in so short a time would be hard duty to a landsman, though 
you, as a sailor, will probably think less of it.” 

“ In this respect I have been fortunate ; the Foam, as we 
know from experience, being a good traveller, and Ducie is 
altogether a fine fellow and an agreeable messmate. You 
know I had him for a companion both going and coming.” 

This was said naturally ; and, while it explained so little 
directly, it removed all unpleasant uncertainty, by assuring 
his listeners that he had been on good terms at least with 
the person who had seemed to be his pursuer. John Effing- 
ham, too, well understood that no one messed with the 
commander of a vessel of war, in his own ship, who was in 
any way thought to be an unfit associate. 

“ You have made a material circuit to reach us, the dis- 
tance by Quebec being nearly a fourth more than the direct 
road.” 

“ Ducie desired it so strongly, that I did not like to deny 


HOME AS FOUND. 


161 


him. Indeed, he made it a point at first to obtain per- 
mission to land me at New York, where he had found me, 
as he said ; but to this I would not listen, as I feared it 
might interfere with his promotion, of which he stood so 
good a chance, in consequence of his success in the affair of 
the money. By keeping constantly before the eyes of his 
superiors, on duty of interest, I thought his success would 
be more certain.” 

“And has his government thought his perseverance in 
the chase worthy of such a reward ?” 

“ Indeed it has. He is now a post, and all owing to his 
good luck and judgment in that affair ; though in his coun- 
try, rank in private life does no harm to one in public life.” 

Eve liked the emphasis that Paul laid on “ his country,” 
and she thought the whole remark was made in a spirit that 
an Englishman would not be apt to betray. 

“Has it ever occurred to you,” continued John Effing- 
ham, “that our sudden and unexpected separation has 
caused a grave neglect of duty in me, if not in both of ns ?” 

Paul looked surprised, and by his manner he demanded 
an explanation. 

“You may remember the sealed package of poor Mr. 
Monday, that we were to open together on our arrival in 
New York, and on the contents of which we were taught 
to believe depended the settling of some important private 
rights. I gave that package to you at the moment it was 
received, and in the hurry of leaving us, you overlooked the 
circumstance.” 

“ All very true, and to my shame I confess that, until 
this instant, the affair has been quite forgotten by me. I 
had so much to occupy my mind while in England, that it 
was not likely to be remembered, and then the packet 
itself has scarce been in my possession since the day I left 
you.” 

“It is not lost, I trust !” said John Effingham quickly. 


162 


home as found. 


“ Surely not I It is safe beyond a question, in the writing- 
desk in wliicb I deposited it. But the moment we got to 
Portsmouth, Ducie and myself proceeded to London toge- 
ther, and as soon as he had got through at the Admiralty, 
we went into Yorkshire, where we remained, much occupied 
with private matters of great importance to us both, while 
his ship was docked, and then it became necessary to make 
sundry visits to our relations ” 

“ Relations !” repeated Eve involuntarily, though she did 
not cease to reproach herself for the indiscretion during the 
rest of the walk. 

“ Relations,” returned Paul, smiling. “ Captain Ducie 
and myself are cousin s-german, and we made pilgrimages 
together to sundry family shrines. This duty occupied us 
until a few days before we sailed for Quebec. On reaching 
our haven, I left the ship to visit the great lakes and 
Niagara, leaving most of my effects with Ducie, who has 
promised to bring them on with himself, when he followed 
on my track, as he expected soon to do, on his way to the 
West Indies, where he is to find a frigate. He owed me 
this attention, as he insisted, on account of having induced 
me to go so far out of my way, with so much luggage, to 
oblige him. The packet is, unluckily, left behind with the 
other things.” 

“ And do you expect Captain Ducie to arrive in this 
country soon ? The affair of the packet ought not to be 
neglected much longer; for a promise to a dying man is 
doubly binding, as it appeals to all our generosity. Rather 
than neglect the matter much longer, I would prefer sending 
a special messenger to Quebec.” 

“ That will be quite unnecessary, as indeed it would be 
useless. Ducie left Quebec yesterday, and has sent his and 
my effects direct to New York, under the care of his own 
steward. The writing-case, containing other papers that 
arc of interest to us both, he has promised not to lose sight 


HOME AS FOUND. 


163 


of, but it will accompany him on the same tour as that I 
have just made ; for he wishes to avail himself of this oppor- 
tunity to see Niagara and the lakes also. He is now on my 
track, and will notify me by letter of the day he will be in 
Utica, in order that we may meet on the line of the canal, 
near this place, and proceed to New York in company.” 

His companions listened to this brief statement with an 
intense interest, with which the packet of poor Mr. Monday, 
however, had very little connexion. John EtBngham called 
to his cousin, and, in a few words, stated the circumstances 
as they had just been related to himself, without adverting 
to the papers of Mr. Monday, which was an affair that he 
had hitherto kept to himself. 

“ It will be no more than a return of civility, if we invite 
Captain Ducie to diverge from his road, and pass a few 
days with us in the mountains,” he added. “ At what pre- 
cise time do you expect him to pass, Powis ?” 

“ Within the fortnight. I feel certain he would be glad 
to pay his respects to this party ; for he often expressed his 
sincere regrets at having been employed on a service that 
exposed the ladies to so much peril and delay.” 

“Captain Ducie is a near kinsman of Mr. Powis, dear 
father,” added Eve, in a way to show her parent that the 
invitation would be agreeable to herself; for Mr. Effingham 
was so attentive to the wishes of his daughter, as never to 
ask a guest to his house that he thought would prove disa- 
greeable to its mistress. 

“ I shall do myself the pleasure to write to Captain Ducie 
this evening, urging him to honor us with his company,” 
returned Mr. Effingham. “We expect other friends in a 
few days, and I hope he will not find his time heavy on his 
hands while in exile among us. Mr. Powis will inclose my 
note in one of his letters, and will, I trust, second the request 
by his own solicitations.” 

Paul made his acknowledgments, and the whole party 


164 


HOME AS FOUND. 


proceeded, though the interruption caused such a change in 
the figure of the promenade, as to leave the young man the 
immediate escort of Eve. The party by this time had not 
only reached the highway, but it had again diverged from it, 
to follow the line of an old and abandoned wheel-track that 
descended the mountain, along the side of the declivity, by 
a wilder and more perilous direction than suited a modern 
enterprise — it having been one of those little calculated and 
rude roads that the first settlers of a country are apt to 
make, before there are time and means to investigate and 
finish to advantage. Although much more difiScult and 
dangerous than its successor, as a highway, this relic of the 
infant condition of the country was by far the most retired 
and beautiful, and pedestrians continued to use it as a com- 
mon footpath to the Vision. The seasons had narrowed its 
surface, and the second growth had nearly covered it with 
their branches, shading it like an arbor ; and Eve expressed 
her delight with its wildness and boldness, mingled, as both 
were, with so pleasant a seclusion, as they descended along 
a path as safe and convenient as a French allee. Glimpses 
were constantly obtained of the lake and the village while 
they proceeded, and altogether, they who were strangers to 
the scenery, were loud in its ’>i-aises. 

“ Most persons, who see this valley for the first time,” 
observed Aristabulus, “ find something to say in its favor ; 
for my part, I consider it as rather curious myself.” 

“ Curious !” exclaimed Paul ; “ that gentleman is at least 
singular in the choice of his expressions.” 

“You have met him before to-day,” said Eve, laughing, 
for Eve was now in a humor to laugh at trifles. “ This we 
know, since he prepared us to meet a poet, where we only 
find an old friend.” 

“ ^nly. Miss Effingham ! Do you estimate poets so high, 
and old friends so low ?” 

“ This extraordinary person, Mr. Aristabulus Bragg, 


HOME AS FOUND, 


165 


really deranges all one’s notions and opinions in such a 
manner, as to destroy even the usual signification of words, 
I believe. He seemes so much in, and yet so much out of 
his place ; is both so ruse and so unpractised ; so unfit for 
what he is, and so ready at everything, that I scarcely know 
how to apply terms in any matter with which he has the 
smallest connexion. I fear he has persecuted you since 
your arrival in Templeton ?” 

“ Not at all ; I am so much acquainted with men of his 
cast, that I have acquired a tact in managing them. Per- 
ceiving that he was disposed to suspect me of a disposition 
to ‘poetize the lake,’ to use his own term, I took care to 
drop a couple of lines, roughly written off, like a hasty and 
imperfect effusion, where I felt sure he would find them, and 
have been, living for a whole week on the fame thereof.” 

“You do indulge in such tastes, then?” said Eve, smiling 
a little saucily. 

“ I am as innocent of such an ambition as of wishing to 
marry the heiress of the British throne, which, I believe, 
just now, is the goal of all the Icaruses of our own time. 
I am merely a rank plagiarist — for the rhyme, on the fame 
of which I have rioted for a glorious week, was two lines 
of Pope’s, an author so efifectually forgotten in these palmy 
days of literature, in which all knowledge seems so con- 
densed into the productions of the last few years, that a 
man might almost pass off an entire classic for his own, 
without the fear of detection. It was merely the first cou- 
plet of the Essay on Man, which, fortunately, having an 
allusion to the ‘ pride of kings,’ would pass for original, as 
well as excellent, in nineteen villages in twenty in America, 
in these piping times of ultra-republicanism. No doubt Mr. 
Bragg thought a eulogy on the ‘ people ’ was to come next, 
to be succeeded by a glorious picture of Templeton and its 
environs.” 

“ I do not know that I ought to admit these hits at liberty 


166 


HOME AS FOUND. 


from a foreigner,” said Eve, pretending to look graver than 
she felt ; for never before, in her life, had our heroine so 
strong a consciousness of happiness as she had experienced 
that very morning. 

“ Foreigner, Miss Effingham ! — And why a foreigner ?” 

“ Nay, you know your own pretended cosmopolitism ; 
and ought not the cousin of Captain Ducie to be an Eng- 
lishman ?” 

“ I shall not answer for the ought, the simple fact being a 
sufficient reply to the question. The cousin of Captain 
Ducie is not an Englishman ; nor, as I see you suspect, has 
he ever served a day in the British navy, or in any other 
navy than that of his native land.” 

“ This is indeed taking us by surprise, and that most 
agreeably,” returned Eve, looking up at him with undisguised 
pleasure, while a bright glow crimsoned her face. “We 
could not but feel an interest in one who had so effectually 
served us; and both my father and Mr. John Effing- 
ham ” 

“Cousin Jack — ” interrupted the smiling Paul. 

“ Cousin Jack, then, if you dislike the formality I used , 
both my father and cousin Jack examined the American 
navy registers for your name, without success, as I under- 
stood, and the inference that followed was fair enough, I 
believe you will admit.” 

“ Had they looked at the register of a few years’ date, 
they would have met with better luck. I have quitted the 
service, and am a sailor only in recollections. For the last 
few years, like yourselves, I have been a traveller by land as 
well as by water.” 

Eve said no more, though every syllable that the young 
man uttered was received by attentive ears, and retained 
with a scrupulous fidelity of memory. They walked some 
distance in silence, until they reached the grounds of a 
house that was beautifully placed on the side of the moun- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


167 


tain, near a lovely wood of pines. Crossing these grounds, 
until they reached a terrace in front of the dwelling, the 
village of Templeton lay directly in their front, perhaps a 
hundred feet beneath them, and yet so near, as to render 
the minutest object distinct. Here they all stopped to take 
a more distinct view of a place that had so much interest 
with most of the party. 

“ I hope you are sufficiently acquainted with the localities 
to act as cicerone,” said Mr. Effingham to Paul. “ In a 
visit of a week to this village, you have scarcely overlooked 
the Wigwam.” 

“ Perhaps I ought to hesitate, or rather ought to blush, to 
own it,” answered the young man, discharging the latter 
obligation by coloring to his temples ; “ but curiosity has 
proved so much stronger than manners, that I have been 
induced to trespass so far on the politeness of this gentle- 
man, as to gain an admission to your dwelling, in and about 
which more of my time has been passed than has probably 
proved agreeable to its inmates.” 

“ I hope the gentleman will not speak of it,” said Arista- 
buhis. “ In this country, we live pretty much in common, 
and with me it is a rule, when a gentleman drops in, whether 
stranger or neighbor, to show him the civility to ask him to 
take off his hat.” 

“It appears to me,” said Eve, willing to change the 
conversation, “ that Templeton has an unusual number of 
steeples ; for what purpose can so small a place possibly 
require so many buildings of that nature !” 

“ Ail in behalf of orthodoxy. Miss Eve,” returned Arista- 
bulus, who conceived himself to be the proper person to 
answer such interrogatories. “ There is a shade of opinion 
beneath every one of those steeples.” 

“ Do you mean, sir, that there are as many shades of 
faith ill Templeton, as I now see buildings that have the 
appearance of being devoted to religious purposes ?” 


168 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“Double the number, Miss, and some to spare, in the 
bargain j for you see but fiv’^e meeting-houses, and the 
county-buildings, and we reckon seven hostile denomina- 
tions in the village, besides the diversities of sentiment on 
trifles. This edifice that you perceive here, in a line with 
the chimneys of the first house, is New St. Paul’s, Mr. 
Grant’s old church, as orthodox a house, in its way, as there 
is in the diocese, as you may see by the windows. This is 
a gaining concern, though there has been some falling off 
of late, in consequence of the clergyman’s having caught a 
bad cold, which has made him a little hoarse ; but I dare 
say he will get over it, and the church ought not to be 
abandoned on that account, serious as the matter undoubt- | 
edly is, for the moment. A few of us have determined to 
back up New St. Paul’s in this crisis, and I make it a point 
to go there myself quite half the time.” 

‘ I am glad we have so much of your company,” said Mr. 
Effingham, “ for that is our own church, and in it my daugh- 
ter was baptized. But, do you divide your religious opinions 
in halves, Mr. Bragg ?” 

“ In as many parts, Mr. Effingham, as there are denomi- 
nations in the neighborhood giving a decided preference to 
New St. Paul’s, notwithstanding under the peculiar circum- 
stances, particularly to the windows. The dark, gloomy- 
looking building. Miss, off in the distance yonder, is the 
Methodist affair, of which not much need be said ; Metho- 
dism flourishing but little among us since the introduction 
of the New Lights, who have fairly managed to out-excite 
them on every plan they can invent. I believe, however, 
they stick pretty much to the old doctrine, which no doubt 
is one great reason of their present apathetic state; for the 
people do love novelties.” 

“Pray, sir, what building is this nearly in a line with 
New St. Paul's, and which resembles it a little in color 
and form ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


169 


“ Windows excepted ; it has two rows of regular square- 
topped windows, Miss, as you may observe. That is the 
First Presbyterian, or the old standard ; a very good house, 
and a pretty good faith, too, as times go. I make it a point 
to attend there at least once every fortnight ; for change is 
agreeable to the nature of man. I will say. Miss, that my pre- 
ference, so faras I have any, however, is for New St. Paul’s, 
and I have experienced considerable regrets that these 
Presbyterians have gained a material advantage over us, in 
a very essential point, lately.” 

“ I am sorry to hear this, Mr. Bragg ; for, being an Epis- 
copalian myself, and having great reliance on the antiquity 
and purity of my church, I should be sorry to find it put in 
the wrong by any other.” 

“ I fear we must give that point up, notwithstanding ; for 
these Presbyterians have entirely outwitted the church 
people in that matter.” 

“ And what is the point in which we have been so signally 
worsted ?” 

“ Why, Miss, their new bell weighs quite a hundred more 
than that of New St. Paul’s, and has altogether the best 
sound. I know very well that this advantage will not avail 
them anything to boast of, in the last great account ; biit it 
makes a surprising difference in the state of probation. You 
see the yellowish-looking building across the valley, with a 
heavy wall around it, and a belfry ? That, in its regular 
character, is the county court-house and jail ; but in the way 
of religion, it is used pretty much miscellaneously.” 

“ Do you mean really, sir, that divine service is ever 
actually performed in it, or that persons of all denomina- 
tions are occasionally tried there ?” 

“ It would be truer to say that all denominations occa- 
sionally try the court-house,” said Aristabulus, simpering ; 
“ for I believe it has been used in this way by every shade 
of religion short of the Jews. The Gothic tower in wood is 

8 


no 


HOME AS FOUND. 


thebuildingoftlieUniversalists; and the Grecian edifice, that 
is not yet painted, of the Baptists. The Quakers, I believe, 
worship chiefly at home, and the different shades of the 
Presbyterians meet in different rooms in private houses 
about the place.” 

“Are there then shades of difference in the denomina- 
tions, as well as all these denominations?” asked Eve, 
in unfeigned surprise; “and this, too, in a population so 
small ?” 

“This is a free county. Miss Eve, and freedom loves 
variety. ‘ Many men, many minds.’ ” 

“ Quite true, sir,” said Paul ; “ but here are many minds 
among few men. Nor is this all ; agreeably to your own 
account, some of these men do not exactly know their own 
minds. But can you explain to us what essential points are 
involved in all these shades of opinion ?” 

“ It would require a life, sir, to understand the half of 
them. Some say that excitement is religion, and others, 
that it is contentment. One set cries up practice, and 
another cries out against it. This man maintains that he 
will be saved if he does good, and that man affirms that if 
he only does good, he will be damned ; a little evil is 
necessary to salvation, with one shade of opinion, while 
another thinks a man is never so near conversion as when 
he is deepest in sin.” 

“ Subdivision is the order of the day,” added John Effing- 
ham. “ Every county is to be subdivided, that there may 
be more county towns and county ofiices ; every religion 
decimated, that there may be a greater variety and a better 
quality of saints.” 

Aristabulus nodded his head, and he would have winked, 
could he have presumed to take such a liberty with a man 
he held as much in habitual awe as John Effingham. 

“ Monsieur^' inquired Mademoiselle Viefville, “ is there 
no eglise^ no veritable eglise in Templeton ? ” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


171 


“ Oh, yes, Madame, several,” returned Aristabulus, who 
would as soon think of admitting that he did not understand 
the meaning of veritable ^glise^ as one of the sects he had 
been describing would think of admitting that it was not 
infallible in its interpretation of Christianity — “ several ; but 
they are not to be seen from this particular spot.” 

“ How much more picturesque would it be, and even 
Christian-like in appearance, at least,” said Paul, “could 
these good people consent to unite in worshipping God ! 
and how much does it bring into strong relief the feebleness 
and ignorance of man, when you see him splitting hairs 
about doctrines, under which he has been told, in terms as 
plain as language can make it, that he is simply required to 
believe in the goodness and power of a Being whose nature 
and agencies exceed his comprehension.” 

“ All very true,” cried John Effingham, “ but what would 
become of liberty of conscience in such a case ? Most men, 
nowadays, understand by faith, a firm reliance on their 
own opinions !” 

“ In that case, too,” put in Aristabulus, “ we should want 
this handsome display of churches to adorn our village. 
There is good comes of it ; for any man would be more 
likely to invest in a place that has five churches than in a 
place with but one. As it is, Templeton has as beautiful a 
set of churches as any village I know.” 

“ Say rather, sir, a set of castors ; for a stronger resem- 
blance to vinegar-cruets and mustard-pots than is borne by 
these architectural prodigies, eye never beheld.” 

“ It is, nevertheless, a beautiful thing, to see the high 
pointed roof of the house of God, crowning an assemblage 
of houses, as one finds it in other countries,” said Eve, 
“ instead of a pile of tavern, as is too much the case in this 
» dear home of ours.” 

When this remark was uttered, they descended the step 
that led from the terrace, and proceeded towards the village. 


172 


HOME AS FOUND. 


On reaching the gate of the Wigwam, the whole party stood 
confronted with that offspring of John Effingham’s taste; 
for so great had been his improvements on the original pro- 
duction of Hiram Doolittle, that externally, at least, that 
distinguished architect could no longer have recognised the 
fruits of his own talents. 

“ This is carrying out to the full, John, the conceits of the 
composite order,” observed Mr. Effingham, drily. 

“I shall be sorry, Ned, if you dislike your house as it is 
amended and corrected.” 

“Dear cousin Jack,” cried Eve, “it*is an odd jumble of 
the Grecian and Gothic. One would like to know your 
authorities for such a liberty.” 

“ What do you think of the facade of the cathedral of 
Milan, Miss ?” laying emphasis on the last words, in imita- 
tion of the manner of Mr. Bragg. “ Is it such a novelty to 
see the two styles blended ; or is architecture so pure in 
America, that you think I have committed the unpardona- 
ble sin?” 

“ Nay, nothing that is out of rule ought to strike one in 
a country where imitation governs in all things immaterial, 
and originality unsettles all things sacred and dear.” 

“By way of punishment for that bold speech, I wish I 
had left the old rookery in the state I found it, that its 
beauties might have greeted your eyes, instead of this 
uncouth pile, which seems so much to offend them. Made- 
moiselle Viefville, permit me to ask how you like that 
house ?” 

“ Mais, c’est un petit chateau.” 

“Un chateau, Effinghamise,” said Eve, laughing. 

“Effinghamise si vous voulez, ma chere; pourtant c’est 
un chateau.” 

“ The general opinion in this part of the country is,” said 
Aristabulus, “that Mr. John Effingham has altered the 
building on the plan of some edifice of Europe, though I 


HOME AS FOUND. 


173 


forget the name of the particular temple ; it is not, however, 
the Parthenon, nor the temple of Minerva.” 

“ I hope, at least,” said Mr. Effingham, leading the way 
up a little lawn, “ it will not turn out to be the Temple of 
the Winds.” 


174 


home as found. 


CHAPTER XI. 


“ Nay, I’ll come ; if I lose a scruple of this sport, let me be boiled to death with 
melancholy.” 

Shakspeare. 

The progress of society in America has been distinguished 
by several peculiarities that do not so properly belong to 
the more regular and methodical advances of civilization in 
other parts of the world. On the one hand, the arts of life, 
like Minerva, who was struck out of the intellectual being 
of her father at a blow, have started full-grown into exist- 
ence, as the legitimate inheritance of the colonists, while 
on the other, everything tends towards settling down into a 
medium, as regards quality, a consequence of the community- 
character of the institutions. Everything she had seen that 
day, had struck Eve as partaking of this mixed nature, in 
which, while nothing was vulgar, little even approached to 
that high standard that her European education had taught 
her to esteem perfect. In the Wigwam, however, as her 
father’s cousin had seen fit to name the family dwelling, 
there was more of keeping, and a closer attention to the 
many little things she had been accustomed to consider 
essential to comfort and elegance, and she was better satis- 
fied with her future home than with most she had seen 
since her return to America. 

As we have described the interior of this house in another 
work, little remains to be said on the subject at present ; 
for, while John Effingham had completely altered its exter- 
nal appearance, its internal was not much changed. It is 
true, the cloud-colored covering had disappeared, as had 


HOME AS FOUND. 


1V5 


that stoop also, the columns of which were so nobly upheld 
by their superstructure ; the former having given place to a 
less obtrusive roof, that was regularly embattled, and the 
latter having been swallowed up by a small entrance tower 
that the new architect had contrived to attach to the build- 
ing with quite as much advantage to it in the way of com- 
fort as ill the way of appearance. In truth, the Wigwam 
had none of the more familiar features of a modern Ameri- 
can dwelling of its class. There was not a column about it, 
whether Grecian, Roman, or Egyptian; no Venetian blinds; 
no veranda or piazza ; no outside paint, nor gay blending 
of colors. On the contrary, it w'as a plain old structure, 
built with great solidity and of excellent materials, and in 
that style of respectable dignity and propriety that was 
perhaps a little more peculiar to our fathers than it is 
to their successors, our worthy selves. In addition to the 
entrance tower, or porch, on its northern front, John Effing- 
ham had also placed a prettily devised conceit on the south- 
ern, by means of which the abrupt transition from an inner 
room to the open air was adroitly avoided. He had, more- 
over, removed the “ firstly ” of the edifice, and supplied its 
place with a more suitable addition that contained some of 
the offices, while it did not disfigure the building, a rare 
circumstance in an architectural after-thought. 

Internally the Wigwam had gradually been undergoing 
improvements ever since that period, which, in the way of 
the arts, if not in the way of chronology, might be termed 
the dark ages of Otsego. The great hall had long before 
lost its characteristic decoration of the severed arm of Wolf, 
a Gothic paper that was better adapted to the really respect- 
able architecture of the room being its substitute ; and even 
the urn that was thought to contain the ashes of Queen 
Dido, like the pitcher that goes often to the well, had been 
broken in a war of extermination that had been carried on 
against the cobwebs, by a particularly notable housekeeper. 


1T6 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Old Homer, too, had gone the way of all baked clay ; 
Shakspeare himself had dissolved into dust, “ leaving not a 
wrack behind and of Washington and Franklin, even, 
indigenous as they were, there remained no vestiges. In- 
stead of these venerable memorials of the past, John 
Effingham, who retained a pleasing recollection of their 
beauties as they had presented themselves to his boyish 
eyes, had bought a few substitutes in a New York shop, 
and a Shakspeare, and a Milton, and a Caesar, and a Dry- 
den, and a Locke, as the writers of heroic so beautifully 
express it, were now seated in tranquil dignity on the old 
medallions that had held their illustrious predecessors. 
Although time had, as yet, done little for this new collec- 
tion in the way of color, dust and neglect were already 
throwing around them the tint of antiquity. 

“ The lady,” to use the language of Mr. Bragg, who did 
the cooking of the Wigwam, having everything in readi- 
ness, our party took their seats at the breakfast table, 
which was spread in the great hall, as soon as each had 
paid a little attention to the toilette. As the service was 
neither very scientific nor sufficiently peculiar, either in the 
way of elegance or of its opposite quality, to be worthy of 
notice, we shall pass it over in silence. 

“ One will not quite so much miss European architecture 
in this house,” said Eve, as she took her seat at table, 
glancing an eye at the spacious and lofty room in which 
they were assembled ; “ here is at least size and its com- 
forts, if not elegance.” 

“ Had you lost all recollection of this building, my 
child,” inquired lier father, kindly, “ I was in hopes you 
would feel some of the happiness of returning home, when 
you again found yourself beneath its roof!” 

“ I should greatly dislike tp have all the antics I have 
been playing in my own dressing-room exposed,” returned 
Eve, rewarding the parental solicitude of her father by a 


HOME AS FOUND. 


177 


look of love, “ though Grace, between her laughing and her 
tears, has threatened me with such a disgrace. Ann Sidlev 
has also been weeping ; and as even Annette, always cour- 
teous and considerate, has shed a few tears in the way of 
sympathy, you ought not to imagine that I have been 
altogether so stoical as not to betray some feeling, dear 
father. But the paroxysm is past, and I am beginning to 
philosophize. I hope, cousin Jack, you have not forgotten 
that the drawing-room is a lady’s empire !” 

“ I have respected your rights. Miss Effingham, though, 
with a wish to prevent any violence to your tastes, I have 
caused sundry antediluvian paintings and engravings to be 
consigned to the 

“ Garret ?” inquired Eve, so quickly as to interrupt the 
speaker. 

“ Fire,” coolly returned her cousin. “ The garret is now 
much too good for them ; that part of the house being con- 
verted into sleeping-rooms for the maids. Mademoiselle 
Annette would go into hysterics, were she to see the works 
of art that satisfied the past generation of masters in this 
country, in too close familiarity with her Louvre-ized eyes.” 

“ Point du tout, monsieur,” said Mademoiselle Yiefville, 
innocently ; “ Annette a du gout dans son metier sans doute, 
but she is too well bred to expect impossibilites. No doubt 
she would have conducted herself with decorum.” 

Everybody laughed, for much light-heartedness prevailed 
at that board, and the conversation continued. 

“ I shall be satisfied if Annette escape convulsions,” Eve 
added, “ a refined taste being her weakness ; and to be 
frank, what I recollect of the works you mention, is not of 
the most flattering nature.” 

“ And yet,” observed Sir George, “ nothing has surprised 
me more than the respectable state of the arts of engraving 
and painting in this country. It was unlooked for, and the 
pleasure has probably been in proportion to the surprise.” 

8 * 


178 


JI O M K AS FOUND. 


“ In that you are very right, Sir George Templemore,” 
John Effingham answered ; “ but the improvement is of 
very recent date. He who remembers an American town 
half a century ago, will see a very different thing in an 
American town of to-day ; and this is equally true of the arts 
you mention, with the essential difference that the latter are 
taking a right direction under a proper instruction, while 
the former are taking a wrong direction under the influence 
of money, that has no instruction. Had I left much of the 
old furniture or any of the old pictures in the Wigwam, we 
should have had the bland features of Miss Effingham in 
frowns, instead of bewitching smiles, at this very moment.” 

“ And yet I have seen fine old furniture in this country, 
cousin Jack.” 

“ Very true ; though not in this part of it. The means 
of conveyance were wanting half a century since, and few 
people risk finery of any sort on corduroys. This very 
house had some respectable old things, that were brought 
here by dint of money, and they still remain ; but the 
eighteenth century in general may be set down as a very 
dark antiquity in all this region.” 

When the repast was over, Mr. Effingham led his guests 
and daughter through the principal apartments, sometimes 
commending and sometimes laughing at the conceits of his 
kinsman. The library was a good-sized room ; good-sized 
at least for a country in which domestic architecture, as 
well as public architecture, is still in the chrysalis state. 
Its walls were hung with an exceedingly pretty gothic 
paper, in green, but over each window was a chasm in the 
upper border ; and as this border supplied the arches, the 
unity of the entire design was broken in no less than four 
places, that being the precise number of the windows. The 
defect soon attracted the eye of Eve, and she was not slow 
in demanding an explanation. 

The deficiency is owing to an American accident,” 


HOME AS FOUND, 


179 


returned her cousin ; “one of those calamities of which you 
are fated to experience many, as the mistress of an Ameri- 
can household. No more of the border was to be bought 
in the country, and this is a land of shops and not of fabri- 
cants. At Paris, Mademoiselle, one would send to the 
paper-maker for a supply ; but, alas ! he that has not 
enough of a thing with us, is as badly oflf as if he had 
none. We are consumers and not producers of works of 
art. It is a long way to send to France for ten or fifteen 
feet of paper hangings, and yet this must be done, or my 
beautiful gothic arches will remain for ever without their 
key-stones I” 

“ One sees the inconvenience of this,” observed Sir 
George — “ we feel it, even in England, in all that relates to 
imported things.” 

“ And we, in nearly all things, but food.” 

“ And does not this show that America can never become 
a manufacturing country ?” asked the baronet, with the in- 
terest an intelligent Englishman ever feels in that all-absorb- 
ing question. “If you cannot manufacture an article as 
simple as that of paper-hangings, would it not be well to 
turn your attention altogether to agriculture ?” 

As the feeling of this interrogatory was much more ap- 
parent than its logic, smiles passed from one to the other, 
though John Effingham, who really had a regard for Sir 
George, was content to make an evasive reply, a singular 
proof of amity in a man of his caustic temperament. 

The survey of the house, on the whole, proved satis- 
factory to its future mistress, who complained, however, 
that it was furnished too much like a town residence. 

“For,” she added, “3^011 will remember, cousin Jack, 
that our visits here will be something like a villeggiatura^ 

“ Yes, yes, my fair lady ; it will not be long before your 
Parisian and Roman tastes will be ready to pronounce the 
whole country a villeggiatura /” 


180 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ This is the penalty, Eve, one pays for being a Hajji,” 
observed Grace, who had been closely watching the ex- 
pression of the others’ countenances ; for, agreeably to 
her view of things, the Wigwam wanted nothing to render 
it a perfect abode. “The things that we enjoy, you 
despise.” 

“ That is an argument, my dear coz., that would apply 
equally well as a reason for preferring brown sugar to 
white.” 

“In coffee, certainly. Miss Eve,” put in the attentive 
Aristabulus, who having acquired this taste, in virtue of 
an economical mother, really fancied it a pure one. “ Every- 
body, in these regions, prefers brown in coffee.” 

“ OA, m(m pere et ma mhre, comme je vous en veuxj"' said 
Eve, without attending to the nice distinctions of Mr. Bragg, 
which savored a little too much of the neophyte in cookery 
to find favor in the present company, “ comme je vous en 
veux for having neglected so many beautiful sites, to place 
this building in the very spot it occupies.” 

“ In that respect, my child, we may rather be grateful at 
finding so comfortable a house at all. Compared with the 
civilization that then surrounded it, this dwelling was a 
palace at the time of its erection ; bearing some such rela- 
tion to the humbler structures around it, as the chdteau 
bears to the cottage. Remember that brick had never 
before been piled on brick, in the walls of a house, in all 
this region, when the Wigwam was constructed. It is the 
Temple of Neptune of Otsego, if not of all the surrounding 
counties.” 

Eve pressed to her lips the hand she was holding in both 
her own, and they all passed out of the library into another 
room. As they came in front of the hall windows, a party 
of apprentice-boys were seen coolly making their arrange- 
ments to amuse themselves with a game of ball, on the lawn 
directly in front of the house. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


181 


“ Surely, Mr. Bragg,” said the owner of the Wigwam, 
with more displeasure in his voice than was usual for one 
of his regulated mind, “you do not countenance this 
liberty ?” 

“Liberty, sir! — I am an advocate for liberty wherever I 
can find it. Do you refer to the young men on the lawn, 
Mr. Effingham ?” 

“ Certainly to them, sir ; and permit me to say, I think 
they might have chosen a more suitable spot for their 
sports. They are mistaking liberties for liberty, I fear.” 

“ Why^ sir, I believe they have always played ball in that 
precise locality.” 

“ Always ! — I can assure you this is a great mistake. 
What private family, placed as we are in the centre of a 
village, would allow of an invasion of its privacy in this rude 
manner ? Well may the house be termed a Wigwam, if 
this whooping is to be tolerated before its door.” 

“ You forget, Ned,” said John EflSngham, with a sneer, 
“that an American always means just eighteen months. 
Antiquity is reached in five lustra, and the dark ages at the 
end of a human life. I dare say these amiable young 
gentlemen, who enliven their sports with so many agreeable 
oaths, would think you very unreasonable and encroaching 
to presume to tell them they are unwelcome.” 

“To own the truth, Mr. John, it would be downright 
unpopular.” 

“ As I cannot permit the ears of the ladies to be offended 
with these rude brawls, and shall never consent to have 
grounds that are so limited, and which so properly belong 
to the very privacy of my dwelling, invaded in this coarse 
manner, I beg, Mr. Bragg, that you will at once desire 
these young men to pursue their sports somewhere else.” 

Aristabulus received this commission with a very ill 
grace ; for, while his native sagacity told him that Mr. 
Effingham was right, he too well knew the loose habits that 


182 


HOME AS FOUND. 


had been rapidly increasing in the country during the last 
ten years, not to foresee that the order would do violence to 
all the apprentices’ preconceived notions of their immunities; 
for, as he had truly stated, things move on at so quick a 
pace in America, and popular feeling is so arbitrary, that a 
custom of a twelvemonth’s existence is deemed sacred, 
until the public itself sees fit to alter it. He was reluctantly 
quitting the party on his unpleasant duty, when Mr. Effing- 
ham turned to a servant who belonged to the place, and 
bade him go to the village barber, and desire him to come 
to the Wigwam to cut his hair; Pierre, who usually per- 
formed that office for him, being busied in unpacking 
trunks. 

“ Never mind, Tom,” said Aristabulus obligingly, as he 
took up his hat ; “ I am going into the street, and will give 
the message to Mr. Lather.” 

“ I cannot think, sir, of employing you on such a duty,” 
hastily interposed Mr. Effingham, who felt a gentleman’s 
reluctance to impose an unsuitable office on any of his 
dependants — “ Tom, I am sure, will do me the favor.” 

“ Ho not name it, my dear sir ; nothing makes me hap- 
pier than to do these little errands, and, another time, you 
can do as much for me.” 

Aristabulus now went on his way more cheerfully, for he 
determined to go first to the barber, hoping that some ex- 
pedient might suggest itself, by means of which he could 
coax the apprentices from the lawn, and thus escape the 
injury to his popularity that he so much dreaded. It is 
true, these apprentices were not voters, but then some of 
them speedily would be, and all of them, moreover, had 
tongues, an instrument Mr. Bragg held in quite as much 
awe as some men dread saltpetre. In passing the ball- 
players, he called out in a wheedling tone to their ring- 
leader, a notorious street brawler — 

“ A fine time for sport, Hickey ; don’t you think there 


HOME AS FOUND. 


183 


would be more room in the broad street than on this 
crowded lawn, where you lose your ball so often in the 
shrubbery ?” 

“This place will do, on a pinch,” bawled Dickey — 
“ Though it might be better. If it warn’t for that plagued 
house, we couldn’t ask for a better ball-ground.” 

“ I don’t see,” put in another, “ what folks built a house 
just in that spot for ; for it has spoilt the very best play- 
ground in the village.” 

“ Some people have their notions as well as others,” 
returned Aristabulus ; “ but, gentlemen, if I were in your 
place, I would try the street. I feel satisfied you would find 
it much the most agreeable and convenient.” 

The apprentices thought differently, however, or they 
were indisposed to the change ; and so they recommenced 
their yells, their oaths, and their game. In the meanwhile 
the party in the house continued their examination of John 
Effingham’s improvements, and when this was completed, 
they separated, each to his or her own room. 

Aristabulus soon reappeared on the lawn, and approaching 
the ball-players, he began to execute his commission, as he 
conceived, in good earnest. Instead of simply saying, how- 
ever, that it was disagreeable to the owner of the property 
to have such an invasion on his privacy, and thus putting a 
stop to the intrusion for the future as well as at the present 
moment, he believed some address necessary to attain the 
desired end. 

“Well, Dickey,” he said, “there is no accounting for 
tastes ; but, in my opinion, the street would be a much bet- 
ter place to play ball in than this lawn. I wonder gentlemen 
of your observation should be satisfied with so cramped a 
playground.” 

“ I tell yon, Squire Bragg, this will do,” roared Dickey. 
“We are in a hurry, and no way particular. The bosses 
will be after us in half an hour. Heave away, Sam !” 


184 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ There are so many fences hereabouts,” continued Aris- 
tabulus, with an air of indifference ; “ it’s true the village 
trustees say there shall be no ball-playing in the street, but 
I conclude you don’t much mind what they think or 
threaten.” 

“ Let them sue for that, if they like,” bawled a particu- 
larly amiable blackguard, called Peter, who struck his ball 
as he spoke, quite into the principal street of the village. 

“Who’s a trustee, that he should tell gentlemen where 
they are to play ball !” 

“ Sure enough,” said Aristabulus, “ and now, by following 
up that blow, you can bring matters to an issue. I think 
the law very oppressive, and you can never have so good an 
opportunity to bring things to a crisis. Besides, it is very 
aristocratic to play ball among roses and dahlias.” 

The bait took ; for what apprentice— American appren- 
tice in particular — can resist an opportunity of showing how 
much he considers himself superior to the law ? Then it 
had never struck any of the party before, that it was vulgar 
and aristocratic to pursue the sport among roses, and one or 
two of them actually complained that they had pricked their 
fingers in searching for the ball. 

“ I know Mr. Effingham will be very sorry to have you 
go,” continued Aristabulus, following up his advantage; 
“but gentlemen cannot always forego their pleasures for 
other folks.” 

“ Who’s Mr. Effingham, I would like to know ?” cried 
Joe Wart. “If he wants people to play ball on his pre- 
mises, let him cut down his roses. Come, gentlemen, I con- 
form to Squire Bragg, and invite you all to follow me into 
the street.” 

As the lawn was now evacuated en masse, Aristabulus 
proceeded with alacrity to the house, and went into the 
library, where Mr. Eflingham was patiently waiting his 
return. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


185 


“ I am happy to inform you, sir,” commenced the ambas- 
sador, “ that the ball-players have adjourned, and as for Mr. 
Lather, he declines your proposition.” 

“ Declines my proposition !” 

“ Yes, sir, he dislikes to come ; for he thinks it will be 
altogether a poor operation. His notion is, that if it be 
worth his while to come up to the Wigwam to cut your 
hair, it may be worth your while to go down to the shop, to 
have it cut. Considering the matter in all its bearings, 
therefore, he concludes he would rather not engage in the 
transaction at all.” 

“ I regret, sir, to have consented to your taking so disa- 
greeable a commission, and regret it the more, now I find 
that the barber is disposed to be troublesome.” 

“ Not at all, sir. Mr. Lather is a good man, in his w^ay, 
and particularly neighborly. By the way, Mr. Effingham, 
he asked me to propose to let him take down your gatden 
fence, in order that he may haul some manure on his potato 
patch, which wants it dreadfully, he says.” 

“ Certainly, sir. I cannot possibly object to his hauling 
his manure even through this house, should he wish it. He 
is so very valuable a citizen, and one who knows his own 
business so well, that I am only surprised at the moderation 
of his request.” 

Here Mr. Effingham rose, rang the bell for Pierre, and 
went to his own room, doubting, in his own mind, from all 
that he had seen, whether this was really the Templeton he 
had known in his youth, and whether he was in his own 
house or not. 

As for Aristabulus, who saw nothing out of rule, or con- 
trary to his own notions of propriety, in what had passed, 
he hurried off to tell the barber, who was so ignorant of the 
first duty of his trade, that he was at liberty to pull down 
Mr. Effingham’s fence, in order to manure his own potato 
patch. 


186 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Lest the reader should suppose we are drawing carica- 
tures, instead of representing an actual condition of society, 
it may be necessary to explain that Mr. Bragg was a stand- 
ing candidate for popular favor ; that, like Mr. Dodge, he 
considered everything that presented itself in the name of 
the public, as sacred and paramount, and that so general 
and positive was his deference for majorities, that it was the 
bias of his mind to think half-a-dozen always in the right, as 
opposed to one, although that one, agreeably to the great 
decision of the real majority of the entire community, had 
not only the law on his side, but all the abstract merits of 
the disputed question. In short, to such a pass of freedom 
had Mr. Bragg, in common with a large class of his coun- 
trymen, carried his notions, that he had really begun to 
imagine liberty was all means and no end. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


187 


CHAPTER XII. 


“ In Booth, thou wast in very gracious fooling last night, when thou spokest of 
PIgrogromotus, of the Vapians passing the equinoctial of Queubus; ’twas very 
good, i’ faith.” Sib Andbew Ague-Cheek. 


The progress of society, it has just been said, in what is 
termed a “new country,” is a little anomalous. At the 
commencement of a settlement, there is much of that sort 
of kind feeling and mutual interest which men are apt 
to manifest towards each other when they are embarked in 
an enterprise of common hazards. The distance that is 
unavoidably inseparable from education, habits, and man- 
ners, is lessened by mutual wants and mutual efforts ; and 
the gentleman, even while he may maintain his character 
and station, maintains them with that species of good- 
fellowship and familiarity, that marks the intercourse 
between the officer and the soldier in an arduous campaign. 
Men, and even women, break bread together, and otherwise 
commingle, that, in different circumstances, would be 
strangers; the hardy adventures and rough living of the 
forest, apparently lowering the pretensions of the man of 
cultivation and mere mental resources, to something very 
near the level of those of the man of physical energy and 
manual skill. In this rude intercourse, the parties meet, as 
it might be, on a sort of neutral ground, one yielding some 
of his superiority, and the other laying claims to an outward 
show of equality, that he secretly knows, however, is the 
result of the peculiar circumstances in which he is placed. 
In short, the state of society is favorable to the claims of 


188 


HOME AS POUND. 


mere animal force, and unfavorable to those of the higher 
qualities. 

This period may be termed, perhaps, the happiest of the 
first century of a settlement. The great cares of life are so 
engrossing and serious that small vexations are overlooked, 
and the petty grievances that would make us seriously 
uncomfortable in a more regular state of society, are taken 
as matters of course, or laughed at as the regular and ex- 
pected incidents of the day. Good-will abounds ; neighbor 
comes cheerfully to the aid of neighbor ; and life has much 
of the reckless gaiety, careless association, and buoyant 
merriment of childhood. It is found that they who have 
passed through this probation, usually look back to it with 
regret, and are fond of dwelling on the rude scenes and 
ridiculous events that distinguish the history of a new settle- 
ment, as the hunter is known to pine for the forest. 

To this period of fun, toil, neighborly feeling and adven- 
ture, succeeds another, in which society begins to marshal 
itself, and the ordinary passions have sway. Now it is that 
we see the struggles for place, the heart-burnings and jea- 
lousies of contending families, and the influence of mere 
money. Circumstances have probably established the local 
superiority of a few beyond all question, and the condition 
of these serves as a goal for the rest to aim at. The learned 
professions, the ministry included, or what by courtesy are 
so called, take precedence, as a matter of course — next to 
wealth, however, when wealth is at all supported by appear- 
ances. Then commence those gradations of social station 
that set institutions at defiance, and which as necessarily 
follow civilization, as tastes and habits are a consequence of 
indulgence. 

This is perhaps the least inviting condition of society 
that belongs to any country that can claim to be free, and 
removed from barbarism. The tastes are too uncultivated 
to exercise any essential influence, and when they do exist, 


HOME AS FOUND. 


189 


it is usually with the pretension and effort that so commonly 
accompany infant knowledge. Tlie struggle is only so 
much the more severe, in consequence of the late pHe-mUe^ 
while men lay claim to a consideration that would seem be- 
yond their reach in an older and more regulated commu- 
nity. It is during this period that manners suffer the most, 
since they want the nature and feeling of the first condition, 
while they are exposed to the rudest assaults of the coarse- 
minded and vulgar ; for, as men usually defer to a superi- 
ority that is long established, there being a charm about 
antiquity that is sometimes able to repress the passions, in 
older communities the marshalling of time quietly regulates 
what is here the subject of strife. 

What has just been said depends on a general and natu- 
ral principle, perhaps ; but the state of society we are 
describing has some features peculiar to itself. The civiliza- 
tion of America, even in its older districts, which supply the 
emigrants to the newer regions, is unequal ; one state pos- 
sessing a higher level than another. Coming as it does 
from different parts of this vast country, the population of a 
new settlement, while it is singularly homogeneous for the 
circumstances, necessarily brings with it its local peculiari- 
ties. If to these elements be added a sprinkling of Euro- 
peans of various nations and conditions, the effects of the 
commingling, and the temporary social struggles that follow, 
will occasion no surprise. 

The third and last condition of society in a “ new 
country,” is that in which the infiuence of the particular 
causes enumerated ceases, and men and things come within 
the control of more general and regular laws. The effect, 
of course, is to leave the community in possession of a civi- 
lization that conforms to that of the whole region, be it 
higher or be it lower, and with the division into castes that 
are more or less rigidly maintained, according to circum- 
stances. 


190 


HOME AS FOUND. 


The periods, as the astronomers call the time taken in a 
celestial revolution, of the two first of these epochs in the 
history of a settlement, depend very much on its advance- 
ment in wealth and in numbers. In some places, the pasto- 
ral age, or that of good fellowship, continues for a whole 
life, to the obvious retrogression of the people in most of 
the higher qualities, but to their manifest advantage, how- 
ever, in the pleasures of the time being ; while, in others, it 
passes away rapidly, like the buoyant animal joys that live 
their time between fourteen and twenty. 

The second period is usually of longer duration, the mi- 
gratory habits of the American people keeping society more 
unsettled than might otherwise prove to be the case. It 
may be said never to cease entirely, until the great majority 
of the living generation are natives of the region, knowing 
no other means of comparison than those under which they 
have passed their days. Even when this is the case, there 
is commonly so large an infusion of the birds of passage, 
men who are adventurers in quest of advancement, and who 
live without the charities of a neighborhood, as they may 
be said almost to live without a home, that there is to be 
found for a long time a middle state of society, during 
which it may well be questioned whether a community be- 
longs to the second or to the third of the periods named. 

Templeton was properly in this equivocal condition, for 
while the third generation of the old settlers were in active 
life, so many passers-by came and went, that the influence 
of the latter nearly neutralized that of time and the natu- 
ral order of things. Its population was pretty equally 
divided between the descendants of the earlier inhabitants 
and those who flitted like swallows and other migratory 
birds. All of those who had originally entered the region 
in the pride of manhood, and had been active in converting 
the wilderness into the abodes of civilized men, if they had 
not been literally gathered to their fathers, in a physical 


HOME AS FOUND. 


191 


sense, had been laid, the first of their several races, beneath 
those sods that were to cover the heads of so many of their 
descendants. A few still remained among those who 
entered the wilderness in young manhood, but the events of 
the first period we have designated, and which we have 
imperfectly recorded in another work, were already passing 
into tradition. Among these original settlers some portion 
of the feeling that had distinguished their earliest commu- 
nion with their neighbors yet continued, and one of their 
greatest delights was to talk of the hardships and privations 
of their younger days, as the veteran loves to discourse of 
his marches, battles, scars, and sieges. It would be too 
much to say that these persons viewed the more ephemeral 
part of the population with distrust, for their familiarity 
with changes accustomed them to new faces ; but they had 
a secret inclination for each other, preferred those who 
could enter the most sincerely into their own feelings, and 
naturally loved that communion best, where they found the 
most sympathy. To this fragment of the community be- 
longed nearly all there was to be found of that sort of senti- 
ment which is connected with locality; adventure, with 
them, supplying the place of time ; while the natives of the 
spot, wanting in the recollections that had so many charms 
for their fathers, were not yet brought sufficiently within 
the influence of traditionary interest, to feel that hallowed 
sentiment in its proper force. As opposed in feeling to 
these relics of the olden time were the birds of passage so 
often named, a numerous and restless class, that of them- 
selves are almost sufficient to destroy whatever there is of 
.poetry or of local attachment in any region where they 
resort. 

In Templeton and its adjacent district, however, the two 
hostile influences might be said to be nearly equal, the 
descendants of the fathers of the country beginning to 
make a manly stand against the looser sentiment, or the 


192 


HOME AS FOUND. 


want of sentiment, that so singularly distinguishes the mi- 
gratory bands. The first did begin to consider the temple 
in which their fathers had worshipped more hallowed than 
strange altars; the sods that covered their fathers’ heads, more 
sacred than the clods that were upturned by the plough ; 
and the places of their childhood and childish sports dearer 
than the highway trodden by a nameless multitude. 

Such, then, were the elements of the society into which 
we have now ushered the reader, and with which it will be 
our duty to make him better acquainted, as we proceed in 
the regular narration of the incidents of our tale. 

The return of the Efiinghams, after so long an absence, 
naturally produced a sensation in so small a place, and visit- 
ors began to appear in the Wigwam as soon as propriety 
would allow. Many false rumors prevailed, quite as a mat- 
ter of course : and Eve, it was reported, was on the point of 
being married to no less than three of the inmates of her 
father’s house, within the first ten days, viz. Sir George 
Templemore, Mr. Powis, and Mr. Bragg ; the latter story 
taking its rise in some precocious hopes that had escaped 
the gentleman himself, in the “ excitement” of helping to 
empty a bottle of bad Breton wine, that was dignified with 
the name of champagne. But these tales revived and died 
so often, in a state of society in which matrimony is so gene- 
ral a topic with the young of the gentler sex, that they 
brought with them their own refutation. 

The third day, in particular, after the arrival of our party, 
was a reception day at the Wigwam; the gentlemen and 
ladies making it a point to be at home and disengaged, after 
twelve o’clock, in order to do honor to their guests. One 
of the first who made his appearance was a Mr. Howel, a 
bachelor of about the same age as Mr. Effingham, and a 
man of easy fortune and quiet habits. Nature had done 
more towards making Mr. Howel a gentleman, than either 
cultivation or association ; for he had passed his entire life. 


HOME AS FOUND 


193 


with very immaterial exceptions, in the valley of Temple- 
ton, where, without being what could be called a student 
or a scholar, he had dreamed away his existence in an indo- 
lent communication with the current literature of the day. 
He was fond of reading, and being indisposed to contention 
or activity of any sort, his mind had admitted the impres- 
sions of what he perused, as the stone receives a new form 
by the constant fall of drops of water. Unfortunately for 
Mr. Howel, he understood no language but his mother 
tongue ; and, as all his reading was necessarily confined to 
English books, he had gradually, and unknown to himself, 
in his moral nature at least, got to be a mere reflection of 
those opinions, prejudices, and principles, if such a word can 
properly be used for such a state of the mind, that it had 
suited the interests or passions of England to promulgate by 
means of the press. A perfect honne foi prevailed in all his 
notions ; and though a very modest man by nature, so very 
certain was he that his authority was always right, that 
he was a little apt to be dogmatical on such points as he 
thought his authors appeared to think settled. Between 
John Effingham and Mr. Howel, there were constant amica- 
ble skirmishes in the way of discussion ; for, while the latter 
was so dependent, limited in knowledge by unavoidable cir- 
cumstances, and disposed to an innocent credulity, the first 
was original in his views, accustomed to see and think for 
himself, and, moreover, a little apt to estimate his own 
advantages at their full value. 

“ Here comes our good neighbor, and my old schoolfel- 
low, Tom Howel,” said Mr. Effingham, looking out at a 
window, and perceiving the person mentioned crossing the 
little lawn in front of the house, by following a winding foot- 
path — “ as kind-hearted a man. Sir George Templemore, as 
exists ; one who is really American, for he has scarcely 
quitted the county half-a-dozen times in his life, and* one of 
the honestest fellows of my acquaintance.” 

0 


194 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Aye,” put in John Effingham, “ as real an American as 
any man can be, who uses English spectacles for all he 
looks at, English opinions for all he says, English prejudices 
for all he condemns, and an English palate for all he tastes. 
American, quotha ! The man is no more American than 
the Times’ newspaper, or Charing Cross ! He actually made 
a journey to New York, last war, to satisfy himself with his 
own eyes that a Yankee frigate had really brought an Eng- 
lishman into port.” 

“ His English predilections will be no fault in my eyes,” 
said the baronet, smiling — “ and I dare say we shall be ex- 
cellent friends.” 

“ I am sure Mr. How el is a very agreeable man,” added 
Grace ; “ of all in your Templeton cdterie^ he is my greatest 
favorite.” 

“ Oh ! I foresee a tender intimacy between Templemore 
and Howel ” rejoined John Effingham ; “ and sundry wordy 
wars between the latter and Miss Effingham.” 

“ In this you do me injustice, cousin Jack. I remember 
Mr. Howell well, and kindly ; for he was ever wont to in- 
dulge my childish whims when a girl.” 

“ The man is a second Burchell, and, I dare say, never 
came to the Wigwam when you were a child, without having 
his pockets stuffed with cakes or bonbons.” 

The meeting was cordial, Mr. Howel greeting the gentle- 
men like a warm friend, and expressing great delight at the 
personal improvements that had been made in Eve between 
the ages of eight and twenty. John Effingham was UiO more 
backward than the others, for he, too, liked their simple- 
minded, kind-hearted, but credulous neighbor. 

“ You are welcome back — you are welcome back,” added 
Mr. Howel, blowing his nose, in order to conceal the tears 
that were gathering in his eyes. “ I did think of going to 
New York to meet you, but the distance at my time of life is 
very serious. Age, gentlemen, seems to be a stranger to you.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


195 


“ And yet we, who are both a few months older than your- 
self, Howel,” returned Mr. Effingham, kindly, “ have ma- 
naged to overcome the distance you have just mentioned, in 
order to come and see you!” 

“ Aye, you are great travellers, gentlemen, very great tra- 
vellers, and are accustomed to motion. — Been quite as far 
as Jerusalem, I hear 1” 

“ Into its very gates, my good friend ; and I wish, with 
all my heart, we had had you in our company. Such a 
journey might cure you of the home malady.” 

“ I am a fixture, and never expect to look upon the ocean 
now. I did, at one period of my life, fancy such an event 
might happen, but I have finally abandoned all hope on that 
subject. Well, Miss Eve, of all the countries in which you 
have dw^elt, to which do. you give the preference?” 

“ I think Italy is the general favorite,” Eve answered, 
with a friendly smile ; “ although there are some agreeable 
things peculiar to almost every country.” 

“ Italy ! — Well, that astonishes me a good deal ! I never 
knew there was anything particularly interesting about Italy ! 
I should have expected you to say, England.” 

“ England is a fine country, too, certainly ; but it wants 
many things that Italy enjoys.” 

“Well, now, what?” said Mr. Howel, shifting his legs 
from one knee to the other, in order to be more convenient 
to listen, or, if necessary, to object. “ What can Italy pos- 
sess, that England does not enjoy in a still greater degree ?” 

“ Its recollections, for one thing, and all that interest 
which time and great events throw around a region.” 

“And is England wanting in recollections and great 
events ? Are there not the Conqueror ? or if you will. King 
Alfred, and Queen Elizabeth, and Shakspeare — think of 
Shakspeare, young lady — and Sir Walter Scott, and the 
Gunpowder Plot ; and Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell, my dear 
Miss Eve ; and Westminster Abbey, and London Bridge, 


196 


HOME AS FOUND. 


and George IV., the descendant of a line of real kings, 
what in the name of Heaven can Italy possess to equal the 
interest one feels in such things as these ? ” 

“ They are very interesting, no doubt,” said Eve, endeavor- 
ing not to smile — “ but Italy has its relics of former ages 
too ; you forget the Caesars.” 

“ Very good sort of persons for barbarous times, I dare 
say, but what can they be to the English monarchs? I 
would rather look upon a bond fide English king, than see 
all the Caesars that ever lived. I never can think any man 
a real king but the king of England.” 

“ Not King Solomon ! ” cried John Effingham. 

“ Oh ! he was a Bible king, and one never thinks of 
them. Italy ! well, this I did not expect from your father’s 
daughter ! Your great-great-great-grandfather must have 
been an Englishman born, Mr. Effingham ? ” 

“ I have reason to think he was, sir.” 

“And Milton, and Dryden, and Newton, and Locke! 
These are prodigious names, and worth all the Caesars put 
together. A Pope, too ; what have they got in Italy to 
compare to Pope ? ” 

“ They have at least the Pope,” said Eve, laughing. 

“ And then there are the Boar’s Head in East Cheap ; 
and the Tower ; and Queen Anne, and all the wits of her 
reign ; and — and — and Titus Oates ; and Bosworth Field ; 
and Smithficld where the martyrs were burned, and a thousand 
more spots and persons of intense interest in Old England ! ” 
“ Quite true,” said John Effingham, with an air of sympa- 
thy — “but, Howel, you have forgotten Peeping Tom of 
Coventry, and the climate ! ” 

“ And Holyrood House, and York Minster, and St. Paul’s,” 
continued the worthy Mr. Howel, too much bent on a cata- 
logue of excellences that to him were sacred, to heed the 
interruption, “ and above all Windsor Castle. What is there 
in the world to equal Windsor Castle as a royal residence ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


197 


Want of breath now gave Eve an opportunity to reply, 
and she seized it with an eagerness that she was the first to 
laugh at herself afterwards. 

‘‘ Caserta is no mean house, Mr. Howel ; and in my poor 
judgment, there is more real magnificence in its great stair- 
case than in all Windsor Castle united, if you except the 
chapel.” 

“ But St. Paul’s.” 

“ Why, St. Peter’s may be set down quite fairly, I think, 
for its pendant at least.” 

“ True, the Catholics do say so,” returned Mr. Howel, 
with the deliberation one uses when he greatly distrusts his 
own concession ; “ but I have always considered it one of 
their frauds. I don’t think there can be anything finer than 
St. Paul’s. Then there are the noble ruins of Engird! 
They, you must admit, are unrivalled.” 

“The Temple of Neptune, at Paestum, is commonly 
thought an interesting ruin, Mr. Howci.” 

“Yes, yes, for a temple, I dare say ; though I do not re- 
member to have ever heard of it before. But no temple 
can ever compare to a ruined abbey.” 

“ Taste is an arbitrary thing, Tom Howel, as you and I 
know when, as boys, we quairrelled about the beauty of our 
.ponies,” said Mr. Effingham, willing to put an end to a dis- 
cussion that he thought a little premature after so long an 
absence. “Here are two young friends who shared the 
hazards of our late passage with us, and to whom in a great 
degree we owe our present happy security, and I am anxious 
to make you acquainted with them. This is our country- 
man, Mr. Powis, and this is an English friend, who I am 
certain will be happy to know so warm an admirer of his 
own country — Sir George Templemore.” 

Mr. Howel had never before seen a titled Englishman, and 
he was taken so much by surprise that he made his salu- 
tations rather awkwardly. As both the young men, how- 


198 


HOME AS FOUND. 


ever, met him with the respectful ease that denotes famili- 
arity with the world, he soon recovered his self-posses- 
sion. 

“ I hope you have brought back with you a sound Ame- 
rican heart. Miss Eve,” resumed the guest, as soon as this 
little interruption had ceased. “We have had sundry 
rumors of French Marquises and German Barons ; but I 
have all along trusted too much to your patriotism to 
believe you would marry a foreigner.” 

“ I hope you except Englishmen,” cried Sir George, gaily ; 
“ we are almost the same people.” 

“ I am proud to hear you say so, sir. Nothing flatters me 
more than to be thought English ; and I certainly should 
not have accused Miss Effingham of a want of love of 
country, had ” 

‘^Sh e married half-a-dozen Englishmen,” interrupted John 
Effingham, who saw that the old theme was in danger of 
being revived. “ But, Howel, you have paid me no com- 
pliments on the changes in the house. I hope they are to 
your taste.” 

“A little too French, Mr. John.” 

“ French ! — There is not a French feature in the whole 
animal. What has put such a notion into your head ?” 

“ It is the common opinion, and I confess I should like 
the building better were it less continental.” 

“ W^hy, my old friend, it is a nondescript-original — 
Effingham upon Doolittle, if you will ; and, as for models, 
it is rather more English than anything else.” 

“ Well, Mr. John, I am glad to hear this, for I do confess 
to a disposition rather to like the house. I am dying to 
know. Miss Eve, if you saw all our distinguished contempo- 
raries when in Europe ? That to me would be one of the 
greatest delights of travelling !” 

“ To say that we saw them all, might be too much ; though 
we certainly did meet with many.” 


HOME AS FOUND 


199 


“Scott, of course.” 

“ Sir Walter we had the pleasure of meeting a few times, 
in London.” 

“And Southey, and Coleridge, and Wordsworth, and 
Moore, and Bulwer, and D’Israeli, and Rogers, and Camp- 
bell, and the grave of Byron, and Horace Smith, and Miss 
Landon, and Barry Cornwall, and ” 

“ Cum multis aliis^' put in John Effingham, again, by 
way of arresting the torrent of names. “ Eve saw many of 
these, and, as Tubal told Shy lock, ‘ we often came where we 
did hear ’ of the rest. But you say nothing, friend Tom, 
of Goethe, and Tieck, and Schlegel, and Lamartine, Chateau- 
briant, Hugo, Delavigne, Mickiewicz, Nota, Manzoni, Nic- 
colini, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c.” 

Honest, well-meaning Mr. Howel, listened to the catalogue 
that the other ran volubly over, in silent wonder ; for, with 
the exception of one or two of these distinguished men, he 
had never even heard of them ; and, in the simplicity of 
his heart, unconsciously to himself, he had got to believe 
that there was no great personage still living, of whom he 
did not know something. 

“ Ah, here comes young Wenham, by way of preserving 
the equilibrium,” resumed John Effingham, looking out of 
a window — “I rather think you must have forgotten 
him, Ned, though you remember his father, beyond 
question.” 

Mr. Effingham and his cousin went out into the hall 
to receive the new guest, with whom the latter had become 
acquainted while superintending the repairs of the Wig- 
wam. 

Mr. Wenham was the son of a successful lawyer in the 
county, and, being an only child, he had also succeeded to 
an easy independence. His age, however, brought him 
rather into the generation to which Eve belonged, than into 
that of the father ; and, if Mr. Howel was a reflection, or 


200 


HOME AS FOUND. 


rather a continuation, of all the provincial notions that 
America entertained of England forty years ago, Mr. Wen- 
ham might almost be said to belong to the opposite school, 
and to be as ultra- American as his neighbor was ultra- 
British. If there is la jeune France^ there is also la jeune 
Amerique^ although the votaries of the latter march with 
less hardy steps than the votaries of the first. Mr. Wen^ 
ham fancied himself a paragon of national independence, 
and was constantly talking of American excellences, though 
the ancient impressions still lingered in his moral system, as 
men look askance for the ghosts which frightened their 
childhood on crossing a churchyard in the dark. John 
Effingham knew the penchant of the young man, and when 
he said that he came happily to preserve the equilibrium, he 
alluded to this striking difference in the characters of their 
two friends. 

The introductions and salutations over, we shall resume 
the conversation that succeeded in the drawing-room. 

“You must be much gratified. Miss Effingham,” ob- 
served Mr. Wenham, who, like a true American, being 
a young man himself, supposed it de rigueur to address a 
young lady in preference to any other present, — “with 
the great progress made by our country since you went 
abroad.” 

Eve simply answered that her extreme youth, when she 
left home, had prevented her from retaining any precise 
notions on such subjects. 

“ I dare say it is all very true,” she added, “ but one, like 
myself, who remembers only older countries, is, I think, a 
little more apt to be struck with the deficiencies than with 
what may, in truth, be improvements, though they still fall 
short of excellence.” 

Mr. Wenham looked vexed, or indignant would be a 
better word, but he succeeded in preserving his coolness — a 
thing that is not always easy to one of provincial habits and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


201 


provincial education, when lie finds his own heau-idial 
lightly estimated by others. 

“ Miss Effingham must discover a thousand imperfections,” 
said Mr. Howel, “ coming, as she does, directly from Eng- 
land. That music, now,” — alluding to the sounds of a flute 
that were heard through the open windows, coming from 
the adjacent village — “must be rude enough to her ear, 
after the music of London.” 

“ The street music of London is certainly among the best, 
if not the very best, in Europe,” returned Eve, with a glance 
of the eye at the baronet, that caused him to smile, “ and I 
think this fairly belongs to the class, being so freely given 
to the neighborhood.” 

“ Have you read the articles signed Minerva, in the Heb- 
domad, Miss Effingham,” inquired Mr. Wenham, who was 
determined to try the young lady on a point of sentiment, 
having succeeded so ill in his first attempt to interest her — 
“ they are generally thought to be a great acquisition to 
American literature.” 

“ Well, Wenham, you are a fortunate man,” interposed 
Mr. Howel, “ if you can find any literature in America to 
add to or subtract from. Beyond almanacs, reports of 
cases badly got up, and newspaper verses, I know nothing 
that deserves such a name.” 

“We may not print on as fine paper, Mr. Howel, or do 
up the books in as handsome binding as other people,” 
said Mr. Wenham, bridling and looking grave, “but so 
far as sentiments are concerned, or sound sense, American 
literature need turn its back on no literature of the day.” 

“ By the way, Mr. Effingham, you were in Russia ; did 
you happen to see the Emperor ?” 

“ I had that pleasure, Mr. Howel.” 

“ And is he really the monster we have been taught to 
believe him ?” 

“ Monster !” exclaimed the upright Mr. Effingham, fairly 
9 ^ 


202 


HOME AS FOUND. 


recoiling a step in surprise. “ In what sense a monster, my 
worthy friend ? Surely not in a physical ?” 

“ I do not know that. I have somehow got the notion he 
is anything but handsome. A mean, butchering, bloody- 
minded looking little chap. I’ll engage.” 

“ You are libelling one of the finest-looking men of the 
age.” 

“ I think I would submit it to a jury. I cannot believe, 
after what I have read of him in the English publications, 
that he is so very handsome.” 

“ But, my good neighbor, these English publications must 
be wrong; prejudiced perhaps, or even njalignant.” 

“ Oh ! I am not the man to be imposed on in that way. 
Besides, what motive could an English writer have for bely- 
ing an Emperor of Russia ?” 

“Sure enough, what motive!” exclaimed John EflSng- 
ham. — “ You have your answer, Ned 1” 

“ But you will remember, Mr. Howel,” Eve interposed, 
“ that we have seen the Emperor Nicholas.” 

“ I dare say. Miss Eve, that your gentle nature was dis- 
posed to judge him as kindly as possible ; and then, I think 
most Americans, ever since the treaty of Ghent, have been 
disposed to view all Russians too favorably. No, no ; I am 
satisfied with *the account of the English ; they live much 
nearer to St. Petersburg than we do, and they are more 
accustomed, too, to give accounts of such matters.” 

“ But living nearer, Tom Howel,” cried Mr. Effingham, 
with unusual animation, “ in such a case, is of no avail, unless 
one lives near enough to see with his own eyes.” 

“ Well — well — my good friend, we will talk of this ano- 
ther time. I know your disposition to look at everybody 
with lenient eyes. I will now wish you all a good morn- 
ing, and hope soon to see you again. Miss Eve, I have one 
word to say, if you dare trust yourself with a youth of fifty 
for a minute in the library.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


203 


Eve rose cheerfully, and led the way to the room her 
father’s visitor had named. When within it, Mr. Howel 
shut the door carefully, and then with a sort of eager de- 
light, he exclaimed — 

“ For heaven’s sake, my dear young lady, tell me who are 
these two strange gentlemen in the other room.” 

“ Precisely the persons my father mentioned, Mr. Howel ; 
Mr. Paul Powis, and Sir George Templemore.” 

“ Englishmen, of course !” 

“ Sir George Templemore is, of course, as you say, but 
we may boast of Mr. Powis as a countryman.” 

“ Sir George Templemore ! What a superb-looking young 
fellow !” 

“ Why, yes,” returned Eve, laughing ; “ he, at least, you 
will admit is a handsome man.” 

“ He is wonderful ! The other, Mr.-a-a-a — I forget what 
you called him — he is pretty well too ; but this Sir George 
is a princely youth.” 

“ I rather think a majority of observers would give the 
preference to the appearance of Mr. Powis,” said Eve, strug- 
gling to be steady, but permitting a blush to heighten her 
color, in despite of the effort. 

“ What could have induced him to come up among these 
mountains — an English baronet!” resumed Mr. Howel, 
without thinking of Eve’s confusion. “ Is he a real lord ?” 

“ Only a little one, Mr. Howel. You heard what my 
father said of our having been fellow-travellers.” 

“ But what does he think of us ? I am dying to know 
what such a man really thinks of us.” 

“ It is not always easy to discover what such men really 
think ; although I am inclined to believe that he is disposed 
to think rather favorably of some of us.” 

“Aye, of you, and your father, and Mr. John. You have 
travelled, and are more than half European ; but what can 
he think of those who have never left America ?” 


204 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Even of some of those,” returned Eve, smiling, “ I sus- 
pect he thinks partially.” 

“ Well, I am glad of that. Do you happen to know his 
opinion of the Emperor Nicholas ?” 

“Indeed I do not remember to have heard him mention 
the Emperor’s name ; nor do I think he has ever seen him.” 

“ That is extraordinary ! Such a man should have seen 
everything, and know everything; but I’ll engage, at the 
bottom, he does know all about him. If you happen to have 
any old English newspapers, as wrappers, or by any other 
accident, let me beg them of you. I care not how old they 
are. An English journal fifty years old, is more interesting 
than one of ours wet from the press.” 

Eve promised to send him a package, when they shook 
hands and parted. As she was crossing the hall, to rejoin 
the party, John Efiingham stopped her. 

“ Has Howel made proposals ?” the gentleman inquirea, 
in an affected whisper. 

“ None, cousin Jack, beyond an offer to read the old Eng- 
lish newspapers I can send him.” 

“Yes, yes, Tom Howel will swallow all the nonsense 
that is timbre a LomdreeV 

“ I confess a good deal of surprise at finding a respecta- 
ble and intelligent man so weak-minded as to give credit to 
such authorities, or to form his serious opinions on informa- 
tion derived from such sources.” 

“ You may be surprised. Eve, at hearing so frank avowals 
of the weakness ; but, as for the weakness itself, you are 
now in a country for which England does all the think- 
ing, except on subjects that touch the current interests of 
the day.” 

“Nay, I will not believe this! If it were true, how 
came we independent of her — where did we get spirit to 
war against her?” 

“ The man who has attained his majority is independent 


HOME AS FOUND. 


205 


of his father’s legal control, without being independent of 
the lessons he was taught when a child. The soldier some- 
times mutinies, and after the contest is over, he is usually 
the most submissive man of the regiment.” 

“ All this to me is very astonishing ! I confess that a 
great deal has struck me unpleasantly in this way, since our 
return, especially in ordinary society ; but I never could 
have supposed it had reached to the pass in which I see it 
existing in our good neighbor Howel.” 

“ You have witnessed one of the effects, in a matter of no 
great moment to ourselves ; but, as time and years afford 
the means of observation and comparison, you will perceive 
the effects in matters of the last moment, in a national point 
of view. It is in human nature to undervalue the things 
with which we are familiar, and to form false estimates of 
those which are remote, either by time or by distance. But, 
go into the drawing-room, and in young Wenham you will 
find one who fancies himself a votary of a new school, 
although his prejudices and mental dependence are scarce- 
ly less obvious than those of poor Tom Howel.” 

The arrival of more company, among whom were several 
ladies, compelled Eve to defer an examination of Mr. Wen- 
ham’s peculiarities to another opportunity. She found many 
of her own sex whom she had left children, grown into wo- 
manhood, and not a few of them at a period of life when 
they should be cultivating their physical and moral powers, 
already oppressed with the cares and feebleness that weigh 
so heavily on the young American wife. 


206 


HOME AS POUND. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


“Na7 we must longer kneel ; I am a suitor.” 

Queen Katheeine. 


The Effinghams were soon regularly domesticated, and 
the usual civilities had been exchanged. Many of their old 
friends resumed their ancient intercourse, and some new 
acquaintances were made. The few first visits were, as usual^ 
rather labored and formal ; but things soon took their natu- 
ral course, and, as the ease of country life was the aim of the 
family, the temporary little bustle was quickly forgotten. 

The dressing-room of Eve overlooked the lake, and, about 
a week after her arrival, she was seated in it enjoying that 
peculiarly ladylike luxury, which is to be found in the pro- 
cess of having another gently disposing of the hair. Annette 
wielded the comb, as usual, while Ann Sidley, who was un- 
consciously jealous that any one should be employed about 
her darling, even in this manner, though so long accustomed 
to it, busied herself in preparing the different articles of 
attire that she fancied her young mistress might be disposed 
to wear that morning. Grace was also in the room, having 
escaped from the hands of her own maid, in order to look 
into one of those books which professed to give an account 
of the extraction and families of the higher classes of Great 
Britain, a copy of which Eve happened to possess, among 
a large collection of books. Almanacks de Gotha, Court 
Guides, and other similar works that she had found it con- 
venient to possess as a traveller. 

“ Ah ! here it is,” said Grace, in the eagerness of one 


HOME AS FOUND. 


207 


who is suddenly successful after a long and vexatious 
search. 

“ Here is what, coz ?” 

Grace colored, and she could have bitten her tongue for its 
indiscretion, but, too ingenuous to deceive, she reluctantly 
told the truth. 

“ I was merely looking for the account of Sir George 
Tempi emore’s family; it is awkward to be domesticated 
with one of whose family we are utterly ignorant.” 

“ Have you found the name ?” 

“Yes; I see he has two sisters, both of whom are married, 
and a brother who is in the Guards. But ” 

“ But what, dear ?” 

“ His title is not so very old.” 

“ The title of no Baronet can be very old, the order hav- 
ing been instituted in the reign of James I.” 

“ I did not know that. His ancestor was created a baro- 
net in 1701, I see. Now, Eve ” 

“ Now, what, Grace ?” 

“We are both — ” Grace would not confine the remark 
to herself — “ we are both of older families than this ! You 
have even a much higher English extraction ; and I think 
I can claim for the Van Cortlandts more antiquity than one 
that dates from 1701 !” 

“ No one doubts it, Grace ; but what do you wish me to 
understand by this ? Are we to insist on preceding Sir 
George, in going through a door ?” 

Grace blushed to the eyes, and yet she laughed involun- 
tarily. 

“ What nonsense ! No one thinks of such things in 
America.” 

“ Except at Washington, where, I am told, ‘ Senators’ 
ladies’ do give themselves airs. But you are quite right, 
Grace ; women have no rank in America, beyond their gene- 
ral social rank as ladies or no ladies, and we will not bo the 


208 


HOME AS FOUND. 


first to set an example of breaking the rule. I am afraid 
our blood will pass for nothing, and that we must give place 
to the baronet, unless, indeed, he recognises the rights of the 
sex.” 

“You know I mean nothing so silly. Sir George Tem- 
plemore does not seem to think of rank at all ; even Mr. 
Powis treats him in all respects as an equal, and Sir George 
seems to admit it to be right.” 

Eve’s maid, at the moment, was twisting her hair, with 
the intention to put it up ; but the sudden manner in which 
her young mistress turned to look at Grace, caused Annette 
to relinquish her grasp, and the shoulders of the beautifiil 
and blooming girl were instantly covered with the luxuriant 
tresses. 

“ And why should not Mr. Powis treat Sir George Temple- 
more as one every way his equal, Grace ?” she asked, with 
an impetuosity unusual in one so trained in the forms of 
the world. 

“ Why, Eve, one is a baronet, and the other is but a sim- 
ple gentleman.” 

Eve Effingham sat silent for quite a minute. Her little 
foot moved, and she had been carefully taught, too, that a 
lady-like manner required that even this beautiful portion 
of the female frame should be quiet and unobtrusive. But 
America did not contain two of the same sex, years, and 
social condition, less alike in their opinions, or it might be 
said their prejudices, than the two cousins. Grace Van 
Cortlandt, of the best blood of her native land, had uncon- 
sciously imbibed in childhood the notions connected with 
hereditary rank, through the traditions of colonial manners, 
by means of novels, by hearing the vulgar reproached 'or 
condemned for their obtrusion and ignorance, and too 
often justly reproached and condemned, and by the aid of 
her imagination, which contributed to throw a gloss and 
brilliancy over a state of things that singularly gains 


HOME AS FOUND. 


209 


by distance. On the other hand, with Eve, everything 
connected with such subjects was a matter of fact. She 
had been thrown early into the highest associations of 
Europe ; she had not only seen royalty on its days of gala 
and representation, a mere raree-show that is addressed to 
the senses, or purely an observance of forms that may pos- 
sibly have their meaning, but which can scarcely be said to 
have their reasons ; but she had lived long and intimately 
among the high-born and great, and this, too, in so many 
different countries, as to have destroyed the influence of the 
particular nation that has transmitted so many of its notions 
to America as heir-looms. By close observation, she knew 
that arbitrary and political distinctions made but little dif- 
ference between men of themselves ; and so far from having 
become the dupe of the glitter of life, by living so long 
within its immediate influence, she had learned to discrimi- 
nate between the false and the real, and to perceive that 
which was truly respectable and useful, and to know it from 
that which was merely arbitrary and selfish. Eve actually 
fancied that the position of an American gentleman might 
readily become, nay, that it ought to be the highest of all 
human stations, short of that of sovereigns. Such a man had 
no social superior, with the exception of those who actually 
ruled, in her eyes ; and this fact, she conceived, rendered 
him more than noble, as nobility is usually graduated. She 
had been accustomed to see her father and John Effingham 
moving in the best circles of Europe, respected for their 
information and independence, undistinguished by their man- 
ners, admired for their personal appearance, manly, cour- 
teous, and of noble bearing and principles, if not set apart 
from the rest of mankind by an arbitrary rule connected 
with rank. Rich, and possessing all the habits that pro- 
perly mark refinement, of gentle extraction, of liberal attain- 
ments, walking abroad in the dignity of manhood, and with 
none between them and the Deity, Eve had learned to re- 


210 


HOME AS FOUND. 


gard the gentlemen of her race as the equals in station of 
any of their European associates, ?nd as the superiors of 
most, in everything that is essential to true distinction. 
With her, even titular princes and dukes had no estimation, 
merely as princes and dukes ; and, as her quick mind glanced 
over the long catalogue of artificial social gradations, and 
she found Grace actually attaching an importance to the 
equivocal and purely conventional condition of an English 
baronet, a strong sense of the ludicrous connected itself 
with the idea. 

“ A simple gentleman, Grace ?” she repeated slowly after 
her cousin ; “ and is not a simple gentleman, a simple Ame- 
rican gentleman, the equal of any gentleman on earth — of a 
poor baronet in particular ?” 

“ Poor baronet. Eve !” 

“Yes, dear, poor baronet; I know fully the extent and 
meaning of what I say. It is true, we do not know as 
much of Mr. Powis’s family,” and here Eve’s color height- 
ened, though she made a mighty effort to be steady and 
unmoved, “ as we might ; but we know he is an American ; 
that, at least, is something ; and we see he is a gentleman ; 
and what American gentleman, a real American gentleman, 
can be the inferior of an English baronet? Would your 
uncle, think you ; would cousin Jack ; proud, lofty-minded 
cousin Jack, think you, Grace, consent to receive so paltry 
a distinction as a baronetcy, were our institutions to be so 
far altered as to admit of such social classifications ?” 

“ Wliy, what would they be. Eve, if not baronets ?” 

“ Earls, counts, dukes, nay, princes ! These are the de- 
signations of the higher classes of Europe, and such titles, 
or those that are equivalent, would belong to the higher 
classes here.” 

“ I fancy that Sir George Templemore would not be per- 
suaded to admit all this !” 

“ If you had seen Miss Eve surrounded and admired by 


HOME As FOUND. 


211 


princes, as I have seen her, Miss Grace,” said Ann Sidley, 
“you would not think any simple Sir George half good 
enough for her.” 

“ Our good Nanny means, a Sir George,” interrupted Eve, 
laughing, “ and not the Sir George in question. But, seri- 
ously, dearest coz, it depends more on ourselves, and less 
on others, in what light they are to regard us, than is com- 
monly supposed. Do you not suppose there are families in 
America who, if disposed to raise any objections beyond 
those that are purely personal, would object to baronets, 
and the wearers of red ribands, as unfit matches for their 
danghters, on the ground of rank ? What an absurdity 
would it be for a Sir George, or the Sir George either, to 
object to a daughter of a President of the United States for 
instance, on account of station ; and yet I’ll answer for it, 
you would think it no personal honor, if Mr. Jackson had a 
son, that he should propose to my dear father for you. Let 
us respect ourselves properly, take care to be truly ladies 
and gentlemen, and so far from titular ranks being neces- 
sary to us, before a hundred lustra are past we shall bring 
all such distinctions into discredit, by showing that they 
are not necessary to any one important interest, or to true 
happiness and respectability anywhere.” 

“ And do you not believe. Eve, that Sir George Temple- 
more thinks of the difference in station between us ?” 

“ I cannot answer for that,” said Eve, calmly. “ The 
man is naturally modest; and, it is possible, when he sees 
that we belong to the highest social condition of a great 
country, he may regret that such has not been his own 
good fortune in his native land ; especially, Grace, since he 
has known you.” 

Grace blushed, looked pleased, delighted even, yet sur- 
prised. It is unnecessary to explain the causes of the three 
first expressions of her emotions ; but the last may require 
a short examination. Nothing but time and a change of 


212 


HOME AS FOUND. 


circumstances can ever raise a province, or a provincial 
town, to the independent state of feeling that so strikingly 
distinguishes a metropolitan country or a capital. It would 
he as rational to expect that the inhabitants of the nursery 
should disregard the opinions of the drawing-room, as to 
believe that the provincial should do all his own thinking. 
Political dependency, moreover, is much more easily thrown 
aside than mental dependency. It is not surprising, there- 
fore, that Grace Van Cortlandt, with her narrow associa- 
tions, general notions of life, origin, and provincial habits, 
should be the very opposite of Eve, in all that relates to 
independence of thought, on subjects like those that they 
were now discussing. Had Grace been a native of New 
England, even, she would have been less influenced by the 
mere social rank of the baronet than was actually the case : 
for, while the population of that part of the Union feel more 
of the general subserviency to Great Britain than the popu- 
lation of any other portion of the republic, they probably 
feel less of it, in this particular form, from the circumstance 
that their colonial habits were less connected with the aris- 
tocratical usages of the mother country. Grace was allied 
by blood, too, with the higher classes of England, as indeed 
was the fact with most of the old families among the New 
York gentry ; and the traditions of her race came in aid of 
the traditions of her colony, to continue the profound defer- 
ence she felt for an English title. Eve might have been 
equally subjected to the same feelings, had she not been 
removed into another sphere at so early a period of life, 
where she imbibed the notions already mentioned — notions 
that were quite as effectually rooted in her moral system, as 
those of Grace herself could be in her own. 

“ This is a strange way of viewing the rank of a 
baronet, Eve ! ” Grace exclaimed, as soon as she had 
a little recovered from the confusion caused by the 
personal allusion. “ I greatly question if you can induce 


HOME AS POUND. 


213 


Sir George Templemore to see his own position with your 
eyes.” 

“ No, my dear ; I think he will be much more likely to 
regard not only that, but most other things, with the eyes of 
another person. We will now talk of more agreeable things, 
however ; for I confess, when I do dwell on titles, I have a 
taste for the more princely appellations ; and that a simple 
chevalier can scarce excite a feeling that such is the theme.” 

“ Nay, Eve,” interrupted Grace, with spirit, “ an English 
baronet is noble. Sir George Templemore assured me that 
as lately as last evening. The heralds, I believe, have quite 
recently established that fact to their own satisfaction.” 

“ I am glad of it, dear,” returned Eve, with diflSculty re- 
fraining from gaping, “ as it will be of great importance to 
them in their own eyes. At all events, I concede that Sir 
George Templemore, knight or baronet, big baron or little 
baron, is a noble fellow ; and what more can any reasonable 
person desire. Do you know, sweet coz, that the Wigwam 
will be full to overflowing next week ? — that it will be neces- 
sary to light our council-fire, and to smoke the pipe of many 
welcomes ? ” 

“ I have understood Mr. Powis, that his kinsman. Captain 
Ducie, will arrive on Monday.” 

“ And Mrs. Hawker will come on Tuesday, Mr. and Mrs. 
Bloomfield on Wednesday, and honest, brave, straightfor- 
ward, literati-hating Captain Truck on Thursday at the 
latest. We shall have a large country circle, and I hear the 
gentlemen talking of the boats and other amusements. 
But I believe my father has a consultation in the library, at 
which he wishes us to be present ; we will join him if you 
please.” 

As Eve’s toilette was now completed, the two ladies rose, 
and descended together to join the party below. Mr. 
Effingham was standing at a table that was covered with 
maps ; while two or three respectable-looking men, master 


214 


HOME AS FOUND. 


mechanics, were at his side. The manners of these men 
were quiet, civil, and respectful, having a mixture of manly 
simplicity, with a proper deference for the years and station 
of the master of the house ; though all but one wore their 
hats. The one who formed the exception had become re- 
fined by a long intercourse with this particular family ; and 
his acquired taste had taught him that respect for himself, 
as well as for decency, rendered it necessary to observe the 
long established rules of decorum in his intercourse with 
others. His companions, though without a particle of 
coarseness, or any rudeness of intention, were less decorous, 
simply from a loose habit, that is insensibly taking the place 
of the ancient laws of propriety in such mattem, and which 
habit, it is to be feared, has a part of its origin in false and 
impracticable political notions, that have been stimulated by 
the arts of demagogues. Still not one of the three hard- 
working, really civil, and even humane men, who now stood 
covered in the library of Mr. Effingham, was probably con- 
scious of the impropriety of which he was guilty, or was 
doing more than insensibly yielding to a vicious and vulgar 
practice. 

“ I am glad you have come, my love,” said Mr. Effingham, 
as his daughter entered the room, “ for I find I need support 
in maintaining my own opinions here. John is obstinately 
silent; and as for all these other gentlemen, I fear they have 
decidedly taken sides against me.” 

“You can usually count on my support, dearest father, 
feeble as it may be. But what is the disputed point to- 
day?” 

“ There is a proposition to alter the interior of the church, 
and our neighbor Gouge has brought the plans on which, as 
he says, he has lately altered several churches in the country. 

. The idea is, to remove the pews entirely, converting them 
into what are called ‘ slips,’ to lower the pulpit, and to raise 
the floor amphitheatre fashion.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


215 


“ Can there be a sufficient reason for this change ? ” de- 
manded Eve, with surprise. “ Slips ! The word has a 
vulgar sound even, and savors of a useless innovation. I 
doubt its orthodoxy.” 

“It is very popular. Miss Eve,” answered Aristabulus, 
advancing from a window, where he had been whispering 
assent. “ This fashion takes universally, and is getting to 
prevail in all denominations.” 

Eve turned involuntarily, and to her surprise she perceived 
that the editor of the Active Inquirer was added to their 
party. The salutations on the part of the young lady 
were distant and stately, while Mr. Dodge, who had not 
been able to resist public opinion, and had actually parted 
with his moustachios, simpered, and wished to have it under- 
stood by the spectators that he was on familiar terms with 
all the family. 

“ It may be popular, Mr. Bragg,” returned Eve, as soon 
as she rose from her profound curtsey to Mr. Dodge ; “ but 
it can scarcely be said to be seemly. This is, indeed, 
changing the order of things, by elevating the sinner and 
depressing the saint.” 

“ You forget. Miss Eve, that under the old plan the people 
could not see ; they were kept unnaturally down, if one 
can so express it, while nobody had a good look-out but the 
parson and the singers in the front row of the gallery. 
This was unjust.” 

“ I do not conceive, sir, that a good look-out, as you term it, 
is at all essential to devotion, or that one cannot as well listen 
to instruction when beneath the teacher, as when above him.” 

“Pardon me. Miss;” Eve recoiled, as she always did, 
when Mr. Bragg used this vulgar and contemptuous mode 
of address ; “we put nobody up or down; all we aim at is 
a just equality — to place all, as near as possible, on a level. 

Eve gazed about her in wonder ; and then she hesitated 
a moment, as if distrusting her ears. 


216 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Equality ! Equality with what ? Surely not with the 
ordained ministers of the church, in the performance of their 
sacred duties ! Surely not with the Deity ! ” 

“We do not look at it exactly in this light, ma’am. The 
people build the church, that you will allow. Miss Effing- 
ham ; even you will allow this, Mr. Effingham.” 

Both the parties appealed to, bowed a simple assent to so 
plain a proposition, but neither spoke. 

“ Well, the people building the church, very naturally ask 
themselves for what purpose it was built ?” 

“ For the worship of God,” returned Eve, with a steady 
solemnity of manner that a little abashed even the ordinarily 
indomitable and self-composed Aristabulus. 

“Yes, Miss; for the worship of God and the accommoda- 
tion of the public.” 

“ Certainly,” added Mr. Dodge ; “ for the public accom- 
modation and for public worship,” laying due emphasis on 
the adjectives. 

“ Father, you, at least, will never consent to this ?” 

“ Not readily, my love. I confess it shocks all my notions 
of propriety to see the sinner, even when he professes to be 
the most humble and penitent, thrust himself up ostenta- 
tiously, as if filled only with his own self-love and self- 
importance.” 

“You will allow, Mr. Effingham,” rejoined Aristabulus, 

“ that churches are built to accommodate the public, as Mr. 
Dodge has so well remarked.” 

“ No, sir ; they are built for the worship of God, as my 
daughter has so well remarked.” 

“Yes, sir; that, too, I grant you 

“As secondary to the main object, the public con- 
venience, Mr. Bragg unquestionably means,” put in John 
Effingham, speaking for the first time that morning on the 
subject. 

Eve turned quickly and looked towards her kinsman. 


HOME AS FOUND 


217 


He was standing near the table, with folded arms, and his 
fine face expressing all the sarcasm and contempt that a 
countenance so singularly calm and gentlemanlike could 
betray. 

“Cousin Jack,” she said earnestly, “this ought not 
to be.” 

“ Cousin Eve, nevertheless this will he.” 

“ Surely not — surely not ! Men can never so far forget 
appearances as to convert the temple of God into a theatre, 
in which the convenience of the spectators is the one great 
object to be kept in view !” 

“You have travelled, sir,” said John Effingham, indi- 
cating by his eye that he addressed Mr. Dodge, in particu- 
lar, “and must have entered places of worship in other 
parts of the world. Did not the simple beauty of the man- 
ner in which all classes, the great and the humble, the rich 
and the poor, kneel in a common humility before the altar, 
strike you agreeably on such occasions ; in Catholic coun- 
tries, in particular ?’ 

“ Bless me ! no, Mr. John Effingham. I was disgusted 
at the meanness of their rites, and really shocked at the 
abject manner in which the people knelt on the cold damp 
stones, as if they were no better than beggars.” 

“ And were they not beggars ?” asked Eve, with almost a 
severity of tone : “ ought they not so to consider them- 
selves, when petitioning for mercy of the one great and 
omnipotent God ?” 

“Why, Miss Effingham, the people will rule, and it is 
useless to pretend to tell them that they shall not have the 
highest seats in the church as well as in the state. Really, I 
can see no ground why a parson should be raise4 abpve his 
parishioners. The new order churches consult the public 
convenience, and place everybody on a level, as it might 
be. Now, in old times, a family was buried in its pew.' It 
could neither see nor be seen ; and T can remember the 

10 


218 


HOME AS FOUND. 


time when I could just get a look of our clergyman’s wig ; 
for he was an old-school man, and as for his fellow-crea- 
tures, one might as well be praying in his own closet. I 
must say I am a supporter of liberty, if it be only in 
pews.” 

“I am sorry, Mr. Dodge,” answered Eve, mildly, “you 
did not extend your travels into the countries of the Mussul- 
mans, where most Christian sects might get some useful 
notions concerning the part of worship, at least, that is con- 
nected with appearances. There you would have seen no 
seats, but sinners bowing down in a mass, on the cold stones, 
and all thoughts of cushioned pews and drawing-room con- 
veniences unknown. We Protestants have improved on our 
Catholic forefathers in this respect, and the innovation of 
which you now speak, in my eyes is an irreverent — almost 
a sinful — invasion of the proprieties of the temple.” 

“ Ah, Miss Eve, this comes from substituting forms for 
the substance of things,” exclaimed the editor. “ For my 
part, I can say, I was truly shocked with the extravagances 
I witnessed in the way of worship, in most of the countries 
I visited. Would you think it, Mr. Bragg, rational beings, 
real bond fide living men and women, kneeling on the stone 
pavement, like so many camels in the desert,” — Mr. Dodge 
loved to draw his images from the different parts of the 
world he had seen — “ ready to receive the burdens of their 
masters ; not a pew, not a cushion, not a single comfort that 
is suitable to a free and intelligent being, but everything 
conducted in the most abject manner, as if accountable 
♦ human souls were no better than so many mutes in a Turk- 
ish palace.” 

“You ought to mention this in the Active Inquirer,” said 
Aristabulus. 

“ All in good time, sir. I have many things in reserve, 
among which I propose to give a few remarks — I dare say 
they will bo very worthless ones — on the impropriety of a 


HOME AS FOUND. 


219 


rational being’s ever kneeling. To my notion, gentlemen 
and ladies, God never intended an American to kneel.” 

The respectable mechanics who stood around the table 
did not absolutely assent to this proposition ; for one of 
them actually remarked that “ he saw no great harm in a 
man’s kneeling to the Deity but they evidently inclined 
to the opinion that the new school of pews was far better 
than the old. 

“It always appears to me, Miss Effingham,” said one, 
“that I hear and understand the sermon better in one of 
the low pews, than in one of the old high-backed things 
that look so much like pounds.” 

“But can you withdraw into yourself better, sir? Can 
you more truly devote all your thoughts, with a suitable 
singleness of heart, to the worship of God ?” 

“ You mean in the prayers, now, I rather conclude ?” 

“ Certainly, sir, I mean in the prayers and the thanks- 
givings.” 

“ Why, we leave them pretty much to the parson ; though 
I own it is not quite as easy leaning on the edge of one of 
the new school pews as on one of the old. They are better for 
sitting, but not so good for standing. But then the sitting 
posture at prayers is quite coming into favor among our 
people. Miss Effingham, as well as among yours. The ser- 
mon is the main chance, after all.” 

“Yes,” observed Mr. Gouge, “give me good strong 
preaching any day, in preference to good praying. A man 
may get along with second-rate prayers, but he stands in 
need of first-rate preaching.” 

“ These gentlemen consider religion a little like a cordial 
on a cold day,” observed John Effingham, “ which is to be 
taken in sufficient doses to make the blood circulate. They 
are not the men to be pounded in pews, like lost sheep ; not 
they ?” 

“Mr. John will always have his say,” one remarked, and 


220 


HOME AS FOUND. 


then Mr. EflSingham dismissed the party, by telling them he 
would think of the matter. 

When the mechanics were gone, the subject was dis- 
cussed at some length between those that remained, all the 
Effinghams agreeing that they would oppose the innovation, 
as irreverent in appearance, unsuited to the retirement and 
self-abasement that best comported with prayer, and opposed 
to the delicacy of their own habits ; while Messrs. Bragg 
and Dodge contended to the last that such changes were 
loudly called for by the popular sentiment; that it was 
unsuited to the dignity of a man to be “ pounded,” even in a 
church, and virtually, that a good, “stirring” sermon, as they 
called it, was of far more account, in public worship, than 
all the prayers and praises that could issue from the heart 
or throat. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


221 


CHAPTER XIV. 


“We’ll follow Cade— we’ll follow Cade.” 


“The views of this Mr. Bragg, and of our old fellow- 
traveller, Mr. Dodge, appear to be peculiar on the subject 
of religious forms,” observed Sir George Templemore, as he 
descended the little lawn before the Wigwam, in company 
with the three ladies, Paul Powis, and John Effingham, on 
their way to the lake. “ I should think it would he diffi- 
cult to find another Christian who objects to kneeling at 
prayer.” 

“ Therein you are mistaken, Templemore,” answered 
Paul ; “ for this country, to say nothing of one sect which 
holds it in utter abomination, is filled with .them. Our 
pious ancestors, like neophytes, ran into extremes on the 
subject of forms, as well as in other matters. When you go 
to Philadelphia, Miss Effingham, you will see an instance 
of a most ludicrous nature — ludicrous, if there was not 
something painfully revolting mingled with it — of the man- 
ner in which men can strain at a gnat and swallow a camel ; 
and which I am sorry to say is immediately connected with 
our own church.” 

It was music to Eve’s ears to hear Paul Powis speak of 
his pious ancestors as being American, and to find him so 
thoroughly identifying himself with her own native land ; 
for, while condemning so many of its practices, and so 
much alive to its absurdities and contradictions, our heroine 
had seen too much of other countries, not to take an honest 
pride in the real excellences of her own. There was, also. 


222 


HOME AS FOUND. 


a soothing pleasure in hearing him openly own that he be- 
longed to the same church as herself. 

“ And what is there ridiculous in Philadelphia, in particu- 
lar, and in connexion with our own church ?” she asked. “ I 
am not so easily disposed to find fault where the venerable 
church is concerned.” 

“ You know that the Protestants, in their horror of idola- 
try, discontinued, in a great degree, the use of the cross as 
an outward religious symbol ; and that there was probably 
a time when there was not a single cross to be seen in the 
whole of a country that was settled by those who made a 
profession of love for Christ and a dependence on his expi- 
ation, the great business of their lives !” 

“ Certainly. We all know our predecessors were a little 
over-rigid and scrupulous on all points connected with out- 
ward appearances.” 

“ They certainly contrived to render the religious rites as - 
little pleasing to the senses as possible, by aiming at a sub- 
limation that peculiarly favors spiritual pride and a pious 
conceit. I do not know whether travelling has had the 
same effect on you as it has produced on me ; but I find 
all my inherited antipathies to the mere visible representa- 
tion of the cross, superseded by a sort of solemn affection 
for it, as a symbol, when it is plain and unaccompanied by 
any of those bloody and minute accessories that are so often 
seen around it in Catholic countries. The German Protes- 
tants, who usually ornament the altar with a cross, first cured 
me of the disrelish I imbibed on this subject in childhood.” 

“We, also, I think, cousin John, were agreeably struck 
with the same usage in Germany. From feeling a species 
of nervousness at the sight of a cross, I came to love to see 
it ; and I think you must have undergone a similar change, 
for I have discovered no less than three among the orna- 
ments of the great window of the entrance tower at the 
Wigwam.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


223 


“ You might have discovered one, also, in every door of 
the building, whether great or small, young lady. Our 
pious ancestors, as Powis calls them, much of whose piety, 
by the way, was anything but meliorated with spiritual hu- 
mility or Christian charity, were such ignoramuses as to set 
up crosses in every door they built, even while they veiled 
their eyes in holy horror whenever the sacred symbol was 
seen in a church.” 

“ Every door !” exclaimed the Protestants of the party. 

“Yes, literally every door, I might almost say ; certainly 
every panelled door that was constructed twenty years since. 
I first discovered the secret of our blunder, when visiting a 
castle in France, that dated back from the time of the 
crusade. It was a chateau of the Montmorencies, that had 
passed into the hands of the Conde family by marriage ; 
and the courtly old domestic, who showed me the curiosities, 
pointed out to me the stone croix in the windows, which 
has caused the latter to be called croisees^ as a pious usage 
of the crusaders. Turning to a door, I saw the same cross- 
es in the wooden stiles ; and if you cast an eye on the first 
humble door that you may pass in this village, you will 
detect the same symbol staring you boldly in the face, in 
the very heart of a population that would almost expire at 
the thoughts of placing such a sign of the beast on their 
very thresholds.” 

The whole party expressed their surprise ; but the first 
door they passed corroborated this account, and proved the 
accuracy of John Effingham’s statements. Catholic zeal and 
ingenuity could not have wrought more accurate symbols of 
this peculiar sign of the sect ; and yet, here they stood, 
staring every passenger in the face, as if mocking the igno- 
rant and exaggerated pretension which would lay undue 
stress on the minor points of a religion, the essence of which 
was faith and humility. 

“And the Philadelphia church?” said Eve, quickly, so 


224 


HOME AS FOUND. 


soon as her curiosity was satisfied on the subject of the 
door ; “ I am now more impatient than ever, to learn what 
silly blunder we have also committed there.” 

“ Impious would almost be a better term,” Paul answered. 
“ The only church spire that existed for half a century, in 
that town, was surmounted by a mitre^ while the cross was 
studiously rejected.” 

A silence followed ; for there is often more true argument 
in simply presenting the facts of a case, than in all the 
rhetoric and logic that could be urged by way of auxilia- 
ries. Every one saw the egregious folly, not to say pre- 
sumption, of the mistake ; and at the moment, every one 
wondered how a common-sense community could have 
committed so indecent a blunder. We are mistaken. There 
was an exception to the general feeling in the person of Sir 
George Templemore. To his church-and-state notions, and 
anti-catholic prejudices, which were quite as much poli- 
tical as religious, there was everything that was proper, 
and nothing that was wrong, in rejecting a cross for a 
mitre. 

“ The church, no doubt, was Episcopal, Powis,” he re- 
marked, “ and it was not Roman. What better symbol 
than the mitre could be chosen?” 

“ Now I reflect, it is not so very strange,” said Grace, 
eagerly, “ for you will remember, Mr. Effingham, that Pro- 
testants attach the idea of idolatry to the cross, as it is used 
by Catholics.” 

“ And of bishops, peers in parliament, church and state^ 
to a mitre.” 

“ Yes; but the church in question I have seen; and it 
was erected before the war of the revolution. It was an 
English rather than an American church.” 

“ It was, indeed, an English church rather than an Ame- 
rican ; and Templemore is very right to defend it, mitre and 
all.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


225 


“ I dare say a bishop officiated at its altar ?” 

“ I dare say — nay, I know he did ; and I will add, he 
would rather that the mitre were two hundred feet in the 
an than down on his own simple, white-haired, apostolical- 
looking head. But enough of divinity for the morning ; 
yonder is Tom with the boat, let us to our oars.” 

The party were now on the little wharf that served as a 
village-landing, and the boatman mentioned lay off, in wait- 
ing for the arrival of his fare. Instead of using him, how- 
ever, the man was dismissed, the gentlemen preferring to 
handle the oars themselves. Aquatic excursions were of 
constant occurrence in the warm months, on that beautifully 
limpid sheet of water, and it was the practice to dispense 
with the regular boatmen, whenever good oarsmen were to 
be found among the company. 

As soon as the light buoyant skiff was brought to the 
side of the wharf, the whole party embarked ; and Paul 
and the baronet taking the oars, they soon urged the boat 
from the shore. 

“ The world is getting to be too confined for the adven- 
turous spirit of the age,” said Sir George, as he and his com- 
panion pulled leisurely along, taking the direction of the 
eastern shore, beneath the forest-clad cliffs of which the 
ladies had expressed a wish to be rowed ; “ here are Powis 
and myself actually rowing together on a mountain lake of 
America, after having boated as companions on the coast 
of Africa, and on the margin of the Great Desert. Poly- 
nesia and Terra Australis may yet see us in company, as 
hardy cruisers.” 

“ The spirit of the age is, indeed, working wonders in the 
way you mean,” said John Effingham. “ Countries of which 
our fathers merely read, are getting to be as familiar as our 
own homes to their sons ; and, with you, one can hardly 
foresee to what a pass of adventure the generation or two 
that will follow us may not reach.” 

10 * 


226 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Yraiment, c’est fort extraordinaire de se trouver sur un 
lac Americain,” exclaimed Mademoiselle Yiefville. 

“ More extraordinary than to find one’s self on a Swiss 
lake, think you, my dear Mademoiselle Yiefville ?” 

“ Non, non, mais tout aussi extraordinaire pour une 
Parisienne.” 

“ I am now about to introduce you, Mr. John Effingham 
and Miss Yan Cortlandt excepted,” Eve continued, “ to the 
wonders and curiosities of this lake and region. There, 
near the small house that is erected over a spring of deli- 
cious water, stood the hut of Natty Bumppo, once known 
throughout all these mountains as a renowned hunter ; a 
man who had the simplicity of a woodsman, the heroism of 
a savage, the faith of a Christian, and the feelings of a poet. 
A better than he, after his fashion, seldom lived.” 

“ We have all heard of him,” said the baronet, looking round 
curiously ; “ and must all feel an interest in what concerns so 
brave and just a man. I would I could see his counterpart.” 

“ Alas !” said John Effingham, “ the days of the ‘ Leather- 
stockings’ have passed away. He preceded me in life, and 
I see few remains of his character in a region where specu- 
lation is more rife than moralizing, and emigrants are plen- 
tier than hunters. Natty probably chose that spot for his 
hut, on account of the vicinity of the spring ; is it not so. 
Miss Effingham ?” 

“ He did ; and yonder little fountain that you see gush- 
ing from the thicket, and which comes glancing like dia- 
monds into the lake, is called the ‘ Fairy Spring,’ by some 
flight of poetry that, like so many of our feelings, must 
have been imported ; for I see no connexion between the 
name and the character of the country, fairies having never 
been known, even by tradition, in Otsego.” 

The boat now came under a shore, where the trees fringed 
the very water, frequently overhanging the element that 
mirrored their fantastic forms. At this point a light skiff 


HOME AS FOUND. 


227 


was moving leisurely along in their own direction, but a 
short distance in advance. On a hint from John Effingham, 
a few vigorous strokes of the oars brought the two boats 
near each other. 

“ This is the flag-ship,” half whispered John Effingham, 
as they came near the other skiff, “ containing no less a 
man than the ‘ commodore.’ Formerly the chief of the 
lake was an admiral, but that was in times when, living 
nearer to the monarchy, we retained some of the European 
terms ; now, no man rises higher than a commodore in 
America, whether it be on the ocean or on the Otsego, 
whatever may be his merits or his services. A charming 
day, commodore ; I rejoice to see you still afloat in your glory.” 

The commodore, a tall, thin, athletic man of seventy, 
with a white head, and movements that were quick as those 
of a boy, had not glanced aside at the approaching boat 
until he was thus saluted in the well known voice of John 
Effingham. He then turned his head, however, and scan- 
ning the whole party through his spectacles, he smiled 
good-naturedly, made a flourish with one hand, while he 
continued paddling with the other, for he stood erect and 
straight in the stern of his skiff, and answered heartily — 

“ A fine morning, Mr. John, and the right time of the 
moon for boating. This is not a real scientific day for the 
fish, perhaps ; but I have just come out to see that all the 
points and bays are in their right places.” 

“ How is it, commodore, that the water near the village 
is less limpid than common, and that even up here we see 
so many specks floating on its surface ?” 

“ What a question for Mr. John Effingham to ask on his 
native water ! So much for travelling in far countries, 
where a man forgets quite as much as he learns, I fear. 
Here the commodore turned entirely round, and raising an 
open hand in an oratorical manner, he added, — “ You must 
know, ladies and gentlemen, that the lake is in blow. 


228 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ In blow, commodore ! I did not know that the lake 
bore its blossoms.” 

“ It does, sir, nevertheless. Aye, Mr. John, and its 
fruits, too ; but the last must be dug for, like potatoes. There 
have been no miraculous draughts of the fishes of late years 
in the Otsego, ladies and gentlemen ; but it needs the sci- 
entific touch and the knowledge of baits to get a fin of any 
of your true game above the water, nowadays. Well, I have 
had the head of the sogdollager thrice in the open air, in 
my time, though I am told the admiral actually got hold of 
him once with his hand.” 

“ The sogdollager !” said Eve, much amused with the sin- 
gularities of the man, whom she perfectly remembered to 
have been commander of the lake, even in her own infancy; 
“ we must be indebted to you for an explanation of that 
term, as well as for the meaning of your allusion to the 
head and the open air.” 

“ A sogdollager, young lady, is the perfection of a thing. 
I know Mr. Grant used to say there was no such word in 
the dictionary ; but then there are many words that ought 
to be in the dictionaries that have been forgotten by the 
printers. In the way of salmon trout, the sogdollager is 
their commodore. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I should not 
like to tell you all I know about the patriarch of this lake, 
for you would scarcely believe me ; but if he would not 
weigh a hundred when cleaned, there is not an ox in the 
county that will weigh a pound when slaughtered.” 

“You say you had his head above water?” said John 
Effingham. 

“ Thrice, Mr. John. The first time was thirty years ago; 
and I confess I lost him on that occasion by want of science ; 
for the art is not learned in a day, and I had then followed 
the business but ten years. The second time was five years 
later; and I had then been fishing expressly for the old 
gentleman about a month. For near a minute it was a mat- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


229 


ter of dispute between us whether he should come out of 
the lake or I go into it ; but I actually got his gills in plain 
sight. That was a glorious haul ! Washington did not feel 
better the night Cornwallis surrendered, than I felt on that 
great occasion !” 

“ One never knows the feelings of another, it seems. I 
should have thought disappointment at the loss would have 
been the prevailing sentiment on that great occasion, as you 
so justly term it.” 

“So it would have been, Mr. John, with an unscientific 
fisherman ; but we experienced hands know better. Glory 
is to be measured by quality, and not by quantity, ladies 
and gentlemen ; and I look on it as a greater feather in a 
man’s cap to see the sogdollager’s head above water for half 
a minute than to bring home a skiff filled with pickerel. 
ITie last time I got a look at the old gentleman I did not 
try to get him into the boat, but we sat and conversed for 
near two minutes ; he in the water, and I in the skiff.” 

“Conversed!” exclaimed Eve, “and with a fish, too! 
What could the animal have to say ?” 

“ Why, young lady, a fish can talk as well as one of our- 
selves; the only difficulty is to understand what he says. 
I have heard the old settlers affirm that the Leather-stocking 
used to talk for hours at a time with the animals of the 
forest.” 

“ You knew the Leather-stocking, commodore?” 

“ No, young lady, I am sorry to say I never had the 
pleasure of looking on him even. He was a great man ! 
They may talk of their Jeffersons and Jacksons, but I set 
down Washington and Natty Bumppo as the two only really 
great men of my time.” 

“ What do you think of Bonaparte, commodore ?” inquired 
Paul. 

“ Well, sir, Bonaparte had some strong points about him, 
I do really believe. But he could have been nothing to the 


230 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Leather-stocking in the woods ! It’s no great matter, young 
gentleman, to be a great man among your inhabitants of 
cities — what I call umbrella people. Why, Natty was 
almost as great with the spear as with the rifle ; though I 
never heard that he got a sight of the sogdollager.” 

“We shall meet again this summer, commodore,” said 
John EflSngham ; “ the ladies wish to hear the echoes, and 
we must leave you.” 

“All very natural, Mr. John,” returned the commodore 
laughing, and again flourishing his hand in his own peculiar 
manner. “ The women all love to hear the echoes, for they 
are not satisfled with what they have once said, but they 
like to hear it over again. I never knew a lady come on 
the Otsego but one of the first things she did was to get 
paddled to the Speaking Rocks to have a chat with herself. 
They come out in such numbers sometimes, and then all 
talk at once, in a way quite to confuse the echo. I suppose 
you have heard, young lady, the opinion people have now 
got concerning these voices.” 

“ I cannot say I have ever heard more than that they 
are some of the most perfect echoes known,” answered Eve, 
turning her body so as to face the old man, as the skiff of 
the party passed that of the veteran fisherman. 

“ Some people maintain that there is no echo at all, and 
that the sounds we hear come from the spirit of the Leather- 
stocking, which keeps about its old haunts, and repeats 
everything we say, in mockery of our invasion of the woods. 
I do not say this notion is true, or that it is my own ; but 
we all know that Natty did dislike to see a new settler 
arrive in the mountains, and that he loved a tree as a musk- 
rat loves water. They show a pine up here on the side of 
the Vision, which he notched at every new-comer, until 
reaching seventeen, his honest old heart could go no further, 
and he gave the matter up in despair.” 

“ This is so poetical, commodore, it is a pity it cannot be 


HOME AS FOUND. 


231 


true. I like this explanation of the ‘Speaking Rocks,’ 
much better than that implied by the name of ‘Fairy 
Spring.’ ” 

“ You are quite right, young lady,” called out the fisher- 
man, as the boats separated still further. “ There never was 
any fairy known in Otsego ; but the time has been when we 
could boast of a Natty Bumppo.” 

Here the commodore flourished his hand again, and Eve 
nodded her adieus. The skiff of the party continued to pull 
slowly along the fringed shore, occasionally sheering more 
into the lake, to avoid some overhanging and nearly hori- 
zontal tree, and then returning so closely to the land, as bare- 
ly to clear the pebbles of the narrow strand with the oar. 

Eve thought she had never beheld a more wild or beauti- 
fully variegated foliage, than that which the whole leafy 
mountain side presented. More than half of the forest of 
tall, solemn pines, that had veiled the earth when the 
country was first settled, had already disappeared ; but 
agreeably to one of the mysterious laws by which nature is 
governed, a rich second growth, that included nearly every 
variety of American wood, had shot up in their places. The 
rich Rembrandt-like hemlocks, in particular, were perfectly 
beautiful, contrasting admirably with the livelier tints of the 
various deciduous trees. Here and there, some flowering 
shrub rendered the picture gay, while masses of the rich 
chestnut, in blossom, lay in clouds of natural glory among 
the dark tops of the pines. 

The gentlemen pulled the light skiff fully a mile under 
this overhanging foliage, occasionally frightening some migra- 
tory bird from a branch, or a water-fowl from the narrow 
strand. At length, John Effingham desired them to cease 
rowing, and managing the skiff for a minute or two with the 
paddle which he had used in steering, he desired the whole 
party to look up, announcing to them that they were beneath 
the “ Silent Pine.” 


232 


HOME AS FOUND 


A common exclamation of pleasure succeeded the upward 
glance ; for it is seldom that a tree is seen to more advan- 
tage than that which immediately attracted every eye. The 
pine stood on the bank, with its roots embedded in the earth, 
a few feet higher than the level of the lake, but in such a 
situation as to bring the distance above the water into the 
apparent lieight of the tree. Like all of its kind that grows 
in the dense forests of America, its increase, for a thousand 
years, had been upwards ; and it now stood in solitary glory, 
a memorial of what the mountains which were yet so rich 
in vegetation had really been in their days of nature and 
pride. For near a hundred feet above the eye, the even 
round trunk was branchless, and then commenced the dark- 
green masses of foliage, which clung around the stem like 
smoke ascending in wreaths. The tall column-like tree had 
inclined towards the light when struggling among its fellows, 
and it now so far overhung the lake, that its summit may 
have been some ten or fifteen feet without the base. A 
gentle, graceful curve added to the effect of this variation 
from the perpendicular, and infused enough of the fearful 
into the grand, to render the picture sublime. Although 
there was not a breath of wind on the lake, the currents 
were strong enough above the forest to move this lofty object, 
and it was just possible to detect a slight, graceful yielding 
of the very uppermost boughs to the passing air. 

“This pine is ill-named,” cried Sir George Templemore, 
“for it is the most eloquent tree eye of mine has ever 
looked on !” 

“It is indeed eloquent,” answered Eve; “one hears it 
speak even now of the fierce storms that have whistled 
round its tops — of the seasons that have passed since it 
extricated that verdant cap from the throng of sisters that 
grew beneath it, and of all that has passed on the Otsego, 
when this limpid lake lay like a gem embedded in the forest. 
When the Conqueror first landed in England this tree stood 


HOME AS FOUND. 


233 


on the spot where it now stands ! Here, then, is at last an 
American antiquity !” 

“ A true and regulated taste. Miss Effingham,” said Paul, 
“ has pointed out to you one of the real charms of the coun- 
try. Were we to think less of the artificial and more of 
our natural excellences, we should render ourselves less liable 
to criticism.” 

Eve was never inattentive when Paul spoke; and her 
color heightened as he paid this compliment to her taste, 
but still her soft blue eye was riveted on the pine. 

“ Silent it may be in one respect, but it is indeed all elo- 
quence in another,” she resumed, with a fervor that was not 
lessened by Paul’s remark. “ That crest of verdure, which 
resembles a^ plume of feathers, speaks of a thousand things 
to the imagination.” 

“I have never known a person of any poetry who came 
under this tree,” said John Effingham, “that did not fall 
into this very train of thought. I once brought a man 
celebrated for his genius here, and after gazing for a minute 
or two at the high, green tuft that tops the tree, he exclaimed, 
‘ that mass of green waved there in the fierce light when 
Columbus first ventured into the unknown sea.’ It is indeed 
eloquent; for it tells the same glowing tale to all who 
approach it — a tale fraught with feeling and recollections.” 

“And yet its silence is, after all, its eloquence,” added 
Paul ; “ and the name is not so misplaced as one might at 
first think.” 

“ It probably obtained its name from some fancied contrast 
to the garrulous rocks that lie up yonder, half concealed by 
the forest. If you will ply the oars, gentlemen, we will now 
hold a little communion with the spirit of the Leather- 
stocking.” 

The young men complied ; and in about five minutes the 
skiff was off in the lake, at the distance of fifty rods from 
the shore, where the whole mountain-side came at one 


234 


HOME AS FOUND. 


glance into tlie view. Here they lay on their oars, and 
John Effingham called out to the rocks a “ good morning,’’ 
in a clear distinct voice. The mocking sounds were thrown 
back again with a closeness of resemblance that actually 
startled the novice. Then followed other calls and other 
repetitions of the echoes, which did not lose the minutest 
intonation of the voice. 

“ This actually surpasses the celebrated echoes of the 
Rhine,” cried the delighted Eve ; “ for, though those do give 
the strains of the bugle so clearly, I do not think they 
answer to the voice with so much fidelity.” 

“ You are very right. Eve,” replied her kinsman, “ for I 
can recall no place where so perfect and accurate an echo is 
to be heard as at these speaking rocks. By increasing our 
distance to half a mile, and using a bugle, as I well know 
from actual experiment, we should get back entire passages 
of an air. The interval between the sound and the echo, 
too, would be distinct, and would give time for an undivided 
attention. Whatever may be said of the ‘ pine,’ these rocks 
are most aptly named ; and if the spirit of Leather-stocking 
has any concern with the matter, he is a mocking spirit.” 

John Effingham now looked at his watch, and then he 
explained to the party a pleasure he had in store for them. 
On a sort of small, public promenade, that lay at the point 
where the river flowed out of the lake, stood a rude shell 
of a building that was called the “ gun-house.” Here — a 
speaking picture of the entire security of the country, from 
foes within as well as from foes without — were kept two or 
three pieces of field artillery, with doors so open that any 
one might enter the building, and even use the guns at will, 
although they properly belonged to the organized corps of 
the state. 

One of these guns had been sent a short distance down 
the valley; and John Effingham informed his companions 
that they might look momentarily for its reports to arouse 


HOME AS FOUND. 


235 


the echoes of the mountains. He was still speaking when 
the gun was fired, its muzzle being turned eastward. The 
sound first reached the side of the Vision, abreast of the 
village, whence the reverberations reissued, and rolled along 
the range, from cave to cave, and cliff to cliff, and wood to 
wood, until they were lost, like distant thunder, two or 
three leagues to the northward. The experiment was thrice 
repeated, and always with the same magnificent effect, the 
western hills actually echoing the echoes of the eastern 
mountains, like the dying strains of some falling music. 

“ Such a locality would be a treasure in the vicinity of a 
melodramatic theatre,” said Paul, laughing, “for certainly 
no artificial thunder I have ever heard has equalled this. 
This sheet of water might even receive a gondola.” 

“ And yet, I fear, one accustomed to the boundless hori- 
zon of the ocean might in time weary of it,” answered John 
Effingham, significantly. 

Paul made no answer ; and the party rowed away in 
silence. 

“ Yonder is the spot where we have so long been accus- 
tomed to resort for picnics,” said Eve, pointing out a 
lovely place, that was beautifully shaded by old oaks, and 
on which stood a rude house that was much dilapidated, 
and indeed injured, by the hands of man. John Effingham 
smiled, as his cousin showed the place to her companions, 
promising them an early and nearer view of its beauties. 

“ By the way, Miss Effingham,” he said, “ I suppose you 
flatter yourself with being the heiress of that desirable 
retreat ?” 

“ It is very natural that at some day, though I trust a 
very distant one, I should succeed to that which belongs to 
my dear father.” 

“ Both natural and legal, my fair cousin ; but you are yet 
to learn that there is a power that threatens to rise up and 
dispute your claim.” 


236 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ What power — human power, at least — can dispute the 
lawful claim of an owner to his property? That Point has 
been ours ever since civilized man has dwelt among these 
hills ; who will presume to rob us of it ?” 

“You will be much surprised to discover that there is 
such a power, and that there is actually a disposition to 
exercise it. The public — the all-powerful, omnipotent, over- 
ruling, law-making, law-breaking public — has a passing ca- 
price to possess itself of your beloved Point; and Ned 
Effingham must show unusual energy, or it will get it ?” 

“ Are you serious, cousin Jack ?” 

“ As serious as the magnitude of the subject can render a 
responsible being, as Mr. Dodge would say.” 

Eve said no more, but she looked vexed, and remained 
almost silent until they landed, when she hastened to seek 
her father with a view to communicate what she had heard. 
Mr. Effingham listened to his daughter, as he always did, 
with tender interest ; and when she had done, he kissed 
her glowing cheek, bidding her not to believe that, which 
she seemed so seriously to dread, possible. 

“But cousin John would not trifle with me on such a 
subject, father,” Eve continued; “he knows how much I 
prize all those little heirlooms that are connected with the 
affections.” 

“We can inquire further into the affair, my child, if it be 
your desire ; ring for Pierre, if you please.” 

Pierre answered, and a message was sent to Mr. Bragg, 
requiring his presence in the library. 

Aristabulus appeared, by no means in the best humor, 
for he disliked having been omitted in the late excursion on 
the lake, fancying that he had a community right to share 
in all his neighbors’ amusements, though he had sufficient 
self-command to conceal his feelings. 

“ I wish to know, sir,” Mr. Effingham commenced, with- 
out introduction, “ whether there can be any mistake con- 


HOME AS FOUND. 237 

cerning the ownership of the Fishing Point on the west 
side of the lake.” 

“ Certainly not, sir ; it belongs to the public.” 

Mr. Effingham’s cheek glowed, and he looked astonished ; 
but he remained calm. 

“ The public ! Do you gravely affirm, Mr. Bragg, that 
the public pretends to claim that Point ?” 

“ Claim, Mr. Effingham ! as long as I have resided in this 
county, I have never heard its right disputed.” 

“ Your residence in this county, sir, is not of very ancient 
date, and nothing is easier than that you may be mistaken. 
I confess some curiosity to know in what manner the public 
has acquired its title to the spot. You are a lawyer, Mr. 
Bragg, and may give an intelligible account of it.” 

“ Why, sir, your father gave it to them in his lifetime. 
Everybody, in all this region, will tell you as much as this.” 

“ Do you suppose, Mr. Bragg, there is anybody in all this 
region who will swear to the fact ? Proof, you well know, 
is very requisite even to obtain justice.” 

“ I much question, sir, if there be anybody in all this re- 
gion that will not swear to the fact. It is the common tra- 
dition of the whole country ; and, to be frank with you, sir, 
there is a little displeasure, because Mr. John Effingham has 
talked of giving private entertainments on the Point.” 

“ This, then, only shows how idly and inconsiderately the 
traditions of the country take their rise. But, as I wish to 
understand all the points of the case, do me the favor to 
walk into the village, and inquire of those whom you think 
the best informed in the matter, what they know of the 
Point, in order that I may regulate my course accordingly. 
Be particular, if you please, on the subject of title, as one 
would not wish to move in the dark.” 

Aristabulus quitted the house immediately, and Eve, per- 
ceiving that things were in the right train, left her father 
alone to meditate on what had just passed. Mr. Effingham 


238 


HOME AS FOUND. 


walked up and down his library for some time, much dis- 
turbed, for the spot in question was identified with all his 
early feelings and recollections ; and if there were a foot of 
land on earth, to which he was more attached than to all 
others, next to his immediate residence, it was this. Still, 
he could not conceal from himself, in despite of his opposi- 
tion to John Effingham’s sarcasms, that his native country 
had undergone many changes since he last resided in it, 
and that some of these changes were quite sensibly for the 
worse. The spirit of misrule was abroad, and the lawless 
and unprincipled held bold language, when it suited their 
purpose to intimidate. As he ran over in his mind, how- 
ever, the facts of the case, and the nature of his right, he 
smiled to think that any one should contest it, and sat 
down to his writing, almost forgetting that there had been 
any question at all on the unpleasant subject. 

Aristabulus was absent for several hours, nor did he re- 
turn until Mr. Efiingham was dressed for dinner, and alone 
in the library again, having absolutely lost all recollection 
of the commission he had given his agent. 

“ It is as I told you, sir — the public insists that it owns 
the Point ; and I feel it my duty to say, Mr. Efiingham, that 
the public is determined to maintain its claim.” 

“ Then, Mr. Bragg, it is proper I should tell the public 
that it is not the owner of the Point, but that I am its owner, 
and that I am determined to maintain my claim.” 

“ It is hard to kick against the pricks, Mr. Effingham.” 

“ It is so, sir, as the public will discover, if it persevere in 
invading a private right.” 

“ Why, sir, some of those with whom I have conversed 
have gone so far as to desire me to tell you — I trust my 
motive will not be mistaken ” 

“ If you have any communication to make, Mr. Bragg, 
do it without reserve. It is proper I should know the truth 
exactly.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


239 


“ Well, then, sir, I am the bearer of something like a 
defiance ; the people wish you to know that they hold your 
right cheaply, and that they laugh at it. Not to mince mat- 
ters, they defy you.” 

“ I thank you for this frankness, Mr. Bragg, and it in- 
creases my respect for your character. Affairs are now at 
such a pass, that it is necessary to act. If you will amuse 
yourself with a book for a moment, I shall have further 
occasion for your kindness.” 

Aristabulus did not read, for he was too much filled with 
wonder at seeing a man so coolly set about contending with 
that awful public which he himself as habitually deferred 
to, as any Asiatic slave defers to his monarch. Indeed, 
nothing but his being sustained by that omnipotent power, 
as he viewed the power of the public to be, had emboldened 
him to speak so openly to his employer, for Aristabulus felt 
a secret confidence, that, right or wrong, it was always safe 
in America to make the most fearless professions in favor of 
the great body of the community. In the meantime, Mr. 
Effingham wrote a simple advertisement against trespassing 
on the property in question, and handed it to the other, 
with a request that he would have it inserted in the number 
of the village paper that was to appear next morning. Mr. 
Bragg took the advertisement, and went to execute the duty 
without comment. 

The evening arrived before Mr. Effingham was again 
alone, when, being by himself in the library once more, Mr. 
Bragg entered, full of his subject. He was followed by John 
Effingham, who had gained an inkling of what had passed. 

“ I regret to say, Mr. Effingham,” Aristabulus commenced, 
“ that your advertisement has created one of the greatest 
excitements it has ever been my ill-fortune to witness in 
Templeton.” 

“ All of which ought to be very encouraging to us, Mr, 
Bragg, as men under excitement are usually wrong,” 


240 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“Very true, sir, as regards individual excitement, but this 
is a public excitement.” 

“ I am not at all aware that that fact in the least alters 
the case. If one excited man is apt to do silly things, 
half a dozen backers will be very likely to increase his 
folly.” 

Aristabulus listened with wonder, for excitement was one 
of the means for effecting public objects, so much practised 
by men of his habits, that it had never crossed his mind any 
single individual could be indifferent to its effect. To own 
the truth, he had anticipated so much unpopularity from 
his unavoidable connexion with the affair, as to have con- 
tributed himself in producing the excitement, with the hope 
of “ choking Mr. Effingham off,” as he had elegantly ex- 
pressed it to one of his intimates, in the vernacular of 
the country. 

“ A public excitement is a powerful engine, Mr. Effing- 
ham,” he exclaimed, in a sort of politico-pious horror. 

“I am fully aware, sir, that it may be even a fearfully 
powerful engine. Excited men, acting in masses, compose 
what are called mobs, and have committed a thousand ex- 
cesses,” 

“Your advertisement is, to the last degree, disrelished; to 
be very sincere, it is awfully unpopular !” 

“ I suppose it is always what you term an unpopular act, 
so far as the individuals opposed are concerned, to resist 
aggression.” 

“ But they call your advertisement aggression, sir.” 

“ In that simple fact exist all the merits of the question. 
If I own this property, the public, or that portion of it 
which is connected with this affair, are aggressors ; and so 
much more in the wrong that they are many against one ; 
if they own the property, I am not only wrong, but very in- 
discreet.” 

The calmness with which Mr. Effingham spoke had an 


HOME AS FOUND. 


241 


effect on Aristabulus, and, for a moment, he was staggered. 
It was only for a moment, however, as the pains and penal- 
ties of unpopularity presented themselves afresh to an ima- 
gination that had been so long accustomed to study the 
popular caprice, that it had got to deem the public favor the 
one great good of life. 

“ But they say, they own the Point, Mr. Effingham.” 

“ And I say, they do not own the Point, Mr. Bragg ; 
never did own it ; and with my consent, never shall own it.” 

“This is purely a matter of fact,” observed John Effing- 
ham, “ and I confess I am curious to know how or whence 
this potent public derives its title. You are lawyer enough, 
Mr. Bragg, to know that the public can hold property only 
by use or by especial statute. Now, under which title does 
this claim present itself?” 

“ First, by use, sir, and then by especial gift.” 

“ The use, you are aware, must be adverse, or as opposed 
to the title of the other claimants. Now, I am a living wit- 
ness that my late uncle permitted the public to use this 
Point, and that the public accepted the conditions. Its use, 
therefore, has not been adverse, or, at least, not for a time 
sufficient to make title. Every hour that my cousin has 
permitted the public to enjoy his property, adds to his right, 
as well as to the obligation conferred on that public, and in- 
creases the duty of the latter to cease intruding, whenever 
he desires it. If there is an especial gift, as I understand 
you to say, from my late uncle, there must also be a law to 
enable the public to hold, or a trustee ; which is the fact ?” 

“ I admit, Mr. John Effingham, that I have seen neither 
deed nor law, and I doubt if the latter exist. Still the pub- 
lic must have some claim, for it is impossible that every- 
body should be mistaken.” 

“ Nothing is easier, nor anything more common, than for 
whole communities to be mistaken, and more particularly 
when they commence with excitement.” 

11 


242 


HOME AS FOUND. 


While his cousin was speaking, Mr. Effingham went to a 
secretaire, and taking out a large bundle of papers, he laid 
it down on the table, unfolding several parchment deeds, to 
which massive seals, bearing the arms of the late colony, as 
well as those of England, were pendent. 

“ Here are my titles, sir,” he said, addressing Aristabuv 
lus, pointedly ; “ if the public has a better, let it be pro- 
duced, and I shall at once submit to its claim.” 

“No one doubts that the king, through his authorized 
agent, the governor of the colony of New York, granted 
this estate to your predecessor, Mr. Effingham, or that it 
descended legally to your immediate parent, but all contend 
that your parent gave the Point to the public, as a spot of 
public resort.” 

“ I am glad that the question is narrowed down within 
limits that are so easily examined. What evidence is there 
of this intention on the part of my late father ?” 

“ Common report ; I have talked with twenty people 
in the village, and they all agree that the ‘ Point ’ has 
been used by the public, as public property, from time im- 
memorial.” 

“ Will you be so good, Mr. Bragg, as to name some of 
those who affirm this ?” 

Mr. Bragg complied, naming quite the number of per- 
sons he had mentioned, with a readiness that proved he 
thought he was advancing testimony of weight. 

“Of all the names you have mentioned,” returned Mr. 
Effingham, “I never heard but three, and these are the 
names of mere boys. The first dozen are certainly the 
names of persons who can know no more of this village 
than they have gleaned in the last few years ; and several 
of them, I understand, have dwelt among us but a few 
weeks, nay, days.” 

“ Have I not told you, Ned,” interrupted John Effingham, 

“ that an American ‘ always’ means eighteen months, and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


243 


that ‘ time immemorial’ is only since the last general crisis 
in the money market !” 

“ The persons I have mentioned compose a part of the 
population, sir,” added Mr. Bragg, and one and all they 
are ready to swear that your father, by some means or 
other, they are not very particular as to minutiao, gave them 
the right to use this property.” 

“ They are mistaken, and I should be sorry that any one 
among them should swear to such a falsehood. But here 
are my titles — let them show better, or if they can, any, 
indeed.” 

“ Perhaps your father abandoned the place to the public ; 
this might make a good claim.” 

“ That he did not, I am a living proof to the contrary ; 
he left it to his heirs at his death, and I myself exercised 
full right of ownership over it until I went abroad. I did 
not travel with it in my pocket, sir, it is true, but I left it 
to the protection of the laws, which, I trust, are as availa- 
ble to the rich as to the poor, although this is a free 
country.” 

“ Well, sir, I suppose a jury must determine the point, as 
you seem firm ; though I warn you, Mr. Effingham, as one 
who knows his country, that a verdict in the face of a popu- 
lar feeling is rather a hopeless matter. If they prove that 
your late father intended to abandon or give this property 
to the public, your case will be lost.” 

Mr. Effingham looked among the papers a moment, and 
selecting one, he handed it to Mr. Bragg, first pointing out 
to his notice a particular paragraph. 

“ This, sir, is my late father’s will,” Mr. Effingham said 
mildly ; “ and in that particular clause you will find that he 
makes a special devise of this very ‘ Point,’ leaving it to his 
heirs, in such terms as to put any intention to give it to the 
public quite out of the question. This, at least, is the 
latest evidence I, his only son, executor, and heir possess of 


244 


HOME AS FOUND. 


his final wishes ; if that wondering and time-immemorial 
public of which you speak has a better, I wait with patience 
that it may be produced.” 

The composed manner of Mr. EfiBngham had deceived 
Aristabulus, who did not anticipate any proof so completely 
annihilating to the pretensions of the public, as that he 
now held in his hand. It was a simple, brief devise, 
disposing of the piece of property in question, and left it 
without dispute, that Mr. Effingham had succeeded to all 
the rights of his father with no reservation or condition of 
any sort. 

“ This is very extraordinary,” exclaimed Mr. Bragg, when 
he had read the clause seven times, each perusal contribut- 
ing to leave the case still clearer in favor of his employer, 
the individual, and still stronger against the hoped-for 
future employers, the people. ' “ The public ought to know 
of this bequest of the late Mr. Efiingham.” 

“ I think it ought, sir, before it pretended to deprive his 
child of his property ; or rather, it ought to be certain, at 
least, that there was no such devise.” 

“ You will excuse me, Mr. Effingham, but I think it is 
incumbent on a private citizen, in a case of this sort, when 
the public has taken up a wrong notion, as I now admit is 
clearly the fact as regards the Point, to enlighten it, and to 
inform it that it does not own the spot.” 

“ This has been done already, Mr. Bragg, in the adver- 
tisement you had the goodness to carry to the printers, 
although I deny that there exists any such obligation.” 

“ But, sir, they object to the mode you have chosen to 
set them right.” 

“ The mode is usual, I believe, in the case of trespasses.” 

“ They expect something diff’erent, sir, in an affair in 
which the public is — is — is — all 

“ Wrong,” put in John Effingham, pointedly. “ I have 
heard something of this out of doors, Ned, and blame you 


HOME AS FOUND. 


245 


for yonr moderation. Is it true that you had told several 
of your neighbors that you have no wish to prevent them 
from using the Point, but that your sole object is merely to 
settle the question of right, and to prevent intrusions on 
your family, when it is enjoying its own place of retire- 
ment ?” 

“ Certainly, John, my only wish is to preserve the pro- 
perty for those to whom it is especially devised, to allow 
those who have the best, nay, the only right to it, its undis- 
turbed possession, occasionally, and to prevent any more of 
that injury to the trees that has been committed by some 
of those rude men, who always fancy themselves so com- 
pletely all the public, as to be masters in their own parti- 
cular persons, whenever the public has any claim. I can 
have no wish to deprive my neighbors of the innocent plea- 
sure of visiting the Point, though I am fully determined 
they shall not deprive me of my property.” 

“ You are far more indulgent than I should be, or per- 
haps than you will be yourself, when you read this.” 

As John Effingham spoke he handed his kinsman a small 
handbill, which purported to call a meeting for that night, 
of the inhabitants of Templeton, to resist his arrogant 
claim to the disputed property. This handbill had the 
usual marks of a feeble and vulgar malignancy about 
it, affecting to call Mr. Effingham “ one Mr. Effingham,” 
and it was anonymous. 

“ This is scarcely worth our attention, John,” said Mr. 
Effingham, mildly. “ Meetings of this sort cannot decide a 
legal title, and no man who respects himself will be the tool 
of so pitiful an attempt to frighten a citizen from maintain- 
ing his rights.” 

“ I agree with you as respects the meeting, which has 
been conceived in ignorance and low malice, and will proba- 
bly end, as all such efforts end, in ridicule. But ” 

“ Excuse me, Mr. John,” interrupted Aristabulus, “ there 


246 


HOME AS FOUND. 


is an awful excitement ! Some have even spoken of 
Lynching !” 

“Then,” said Mr. Effingham, “it does, indeed, require 
that we should he more firm. Do you, sir, know of any 
person who has dared to use such a menace ?” 

Aristabulus quailed before the stern eye of Mr. Effing- 
ham, and he regretted having communicated so much, 
though he had communicated nothing but the truth. He 
stammered out an obscure and half-intelligible explanation, 
and proposed to attend the meeting in person, in order that 
he might be in the way of understanding the subject, with- 
out falling into the danger of mistake. To this Mr. Effing- 
ham assented, as he felt too indignant at this outrage on all 
his rights, whether as a citizen or a man, to wish to pursue 
the subject with his agent that night. Aristabulus departed, 
and John Effingham remained closeted with his kinsman 
until the family retired. During this long interview, the 
former communicated many things to the latter, in relation 
to this very alfair, of which the owner of the property, until 
then, had been profoundly ignorant. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


247 


CHAPTER XV. 


“There shall he in England, seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny, tho 
three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops ; and I will make it felony to drink small 
beer : all the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to 
grass.” 

Jack Cade, 

• 

Though the affair of the Point continued to agitate the 
village of Templeton next day, and for many days, it was 
little remembered in the Wigwam. Confident of his right, 
Mr. Effingham, though naturally indignant at the abuse of 
his long liberality, through which alone the public h^d been 
permitted to frequent the place, and this too, quite often, to 
his own discomfort and disappointment, had dismissed the 
subject temporarily from his mind, and was already engaged 
in his ordinary pursuits. Not so, however, with Mr. Bragg. 
Agreeably to promise, he had attended the meeting ; and 
now he seemed to regulate all his movements by a sort of 
mysterious self-importance, as if the repository of some 
secret of unusual consequence. No one regarded his man- 
ner, however ; for Aristabulus, and his secrets and opinions, 
were all of too little value in the . eyes of most of the party, 
to attract peculiar attention. He found a sympathetic lis- 
tener in Mr. Dodge, happily ; that person having been 
invited, through the courtesy of Mr. Effingham, to pass the 
day with those in whose company, though very unwillingly 
on the editor’s part certainly, he had gone through so many 
dangerous trials. These two, then, soon became intimate, 
and to have seen their shrugs, significant whisperings, and 
frequent conferences in corners, one who did not know 


248 


HOME AS FOUND. 


them, might have fancied their shoulders burdened with the 
weight of the state. 

But all this pantomime, which was intended to awaken 
curiosity, was lost on the company in general. The ladies, 
attended by Paul and the Baronet, proceeded into the forest 
on foot, for a morning’s walk, while the two Messrs. Effing- 
ham continued to read the daily journals that were received 
from town each morning, with a most provoking indiffer- 
ence. Neither Aristabulus nor Mr. Dodge could resist any 
longer ; and after exhausting their ingenuity, in the vain 
effort to induce one of the two gentlemen to question them 
in relation to the meeting of the previous night, the desire 
to be doing fairly overcame their affected mysteriousness, 
and a formal request was made to Mr. Effingham to give 
them an audience in the library. As the latter, who sus- 
pected the nature of the interview, requested his kinsman to 
make one in it, the four were soon alone, in the apartment 
so often named. 

Even now that his own request for the interview was 
granted, Aristabulus hesitated about proceeding, until a 
mild intimation from Mr. Effingham that he was ready to 
hear his communication, told the agent that it was too late 
to change his determination. 

“ I attended the meeting last night, Mr. Effingham,” Arista- 
bulus commenced, “agreeably to our arrangement, and I 
feel the utmost regret at being compelled to lay the result 
before a gentleman for whom I entertain so profound a 
respect.” 

“ There was then a meeting ?” said Mr. Effingham, inclin- 
ing his body slightly, by way of acknowledgment for the 
other’s compliment. 

“ There was, sir ; and I think, Mr. Dodge, we may say an 
overflowing one.” 

“ The public was fairly represented,” returned the editor, 

“ as many as fifty or sixty having been present.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


249 


“ The public has a perfect right to meet, and to consult 
on its claims to anything it may conceive itself entitled to 
enjoy,” observed Mr. Effingham. “ I can have no possible 
objection to such a course, though I think it would have 
consulted its own dignity more, had it insisted on being 
convoked by more respectable persons than those who, I 
understand, were foremost in this affair, and in terms better 
suited to its own sense of propriety.” 

Aristabulus glanced at Mr. Dodge, and Mr. Dodge glanced 
back at Mr. Bragg ; for neither of these political mush- 
rooms could conceive of the dignity and fair-mindedness 
with which a gentleman could view an affair of this nature. 

“They passed a set of resolutions, Mr. Effingham,” 
Aristabulus resumed, with the gravity with which he ever 
spoke of things of this nature. “A set of resolutions, 
sir !” 

“That was to be expected,” returned his employer, 
smiling ; “ the Americans are a set of resolutions-passing 
people. Three cannot get together without naming a 
chairman and secretary, and a resolution is as much a con- 
sequence of such an ‘organization,’ — I believe that is the 
approved word — as an egg is the accompaniment of the 
cackling of a hen.” 

“ But, sir, you do not know the nature of those resolu- 
tions !” 

“Very true, Mr. Bragg; that is a piece of knowledge I 
am to have the pleasure of obtaining from you.” 

Again Aristabulus glanced at Steadfast, and Steadfast 
threw back the look of surprise ; for to both it was matter 
of real astonishment that any man should be so indifferent 
to the resolutions of a meeting that had been regularly 
organized, with a chairman and secretary at its head, and 
which so unequivocally professed to be the public. 

“ I am reluctant to discharge this duty, Mr. Effingham, 
but as you insist on its performance it must be done. In 
11 ^ 


250 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the first place, they resolved that your father meant to give 
them the Point.” 

“ A decision that must clearly settle the matter, and 
which will destroy all my father’s own resolutions on the 
same subject. Did they stop at the Point, Mr. Bragg, or 
did they resolve that my father also gave them his wife and 
children ?” 

“ No, sir, nothing was said concerning the latter.” 

“ I cannot properly express my gratitude for the forbear- 
ance, as they had just as good a right to pass this resolution 
as to pass the other.” 

“ The public’s is an awfiil power, Mr. Efiingham !” 

“ Indeed it is, sir, but fortunately, that of the re-public is 
still more awful, and I shall look to the latter for support, 
in this ‘ crisis’ — that is the word, too, is it not, Mr. J ohn 
Efiingham ?” 

“ If you mean a change of administration, the upsetting 
of a stage, or the death of a cart-horse ; they are all equally 
crisises, in the American vocabulary.” 

“Well, Mr. Bragg, having resolved that it knew my late 
father’s intentions better than he knew them himself, as is 
apparent from the mistake he made in his will, what next 
did the public dispose of, in the plenitude of its power ?” 

“ It resolved, sir, that it was your duty to carry out the 
intentions of your father.” 

“ In that, then, we are perfectly of a mind ; as the public 
will most probably discover, before we get through with this 
matter. This is one of the most pious resolutions I ever 
knew the public to pass. Did it proceed any further ?” 

Mr. Bragg, notwithstanding the long-encouraged truck- 
ling to the sets of men whom he was accustomed to dignify 
with the name of the public, had a profound deference for 
the principles, character, and station of Mr. Efiingham, that 
no sophistry, or self-encouragement in the practices of social 
confusion, could overcome ; and he paused before he com- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


251 


muiiicated the next resolution to his employers. But per- 
ceiving that both the latter and his cousin were quietly 
waiting to hear it, he was fain to overcome his scruples. 

“ They have openly libelled you, by passing resolutions 
declaring you to be odious.” 

“ That, indeed, is a strong measure, and, in the interest of 
good manners and of good morals, it may call for a rebuke. 
No one can care less than myself, Mr. Bragg, for the opi- 
nions of those who have sufficiently demonstrated that their 
opinions are of no value, by the heedless manner in which 
they have permitted themselves to fall into this error ; but 
it is proceeding too far, when a few members of the commu- 
nity presume to take these liberties with a private indivi- 
dual, and that, moreover, in a case affecting a pretended 
claim of their own ; and I desire you to tell those concern- 
ed, that if they dare to publish their resolution declaring me 
to be odious, I will teach them what they now do not appear 
to know — that we live in a country of laws. I shall not 
prosecute them, but I shall indict them for the offence, and 
I hope this is plainly expressed.” 

Aristabulus stood aghast ! To indict the public was a 
step he had never heard of before, and he began to perceive 
that the question actually had two sides. Still, his awe of 
public meetings, and his habitual regard for popularity, in- 
duced him not to give up the matter without another strug- 
gle. 

“ They have already ordered their proceedings to be pub- 
lished, Mr. Effingham !” he said, as if such^ an order were 
not to be countermanded. 

“ I fancy, sir, that when it comes to the issue, and the 
penalties of a prosecution present themselves, their leaders 
will begin to recollect their individuality, and to think less 
of their public character. They who hunt in droves, like 
wolves, are seldom very valiant when singled out from their 
pack. The end will show.” 


252 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ I heartily wish this unpleasant affair might be amicably 
settled,” added Aristabulus. 

“ One might, indeed, fancy so,” observed J ohn Effingham, 
“ since no one likes to be persecuted.” 

“ But, Mr. John, the public thinks itself persecuted in this 
affair.” 

“ The term, as applied to a body that not only makes, 
but which executes the law, is so palpably absurd, that I am 
surprised any man can presume to use it. But, Mr. Bragg, 
you have seen documents that cannot err, and know that 
the public has not the smallest right to this bit of land.” 

“ All very true, sir ; but you will please to remember, that 
the people do not know what I now know.” 

“ And you will please to remember, sir, that when people 
choose to act affirmatively, in so high-handed a manner as 
this, they are bound to know what they are about. Igno- 
rance in such a matter, is like the drunkard’s plea of intoxi- 
cation ; it merely makes the offence worse.” 

“ Do you not think, Mr. John, that Mr. Effingham might 
have acquainted these citizens with the real state of the 
case ? Are the people so very wrong that they have fallen 
into a mistake ?” 

“ Since you ask this question plainly, Mr. Bragg, it shall 
be answered with equal sincerity. Mr. Effingham is a man 
of mature years ; the known child, executor, and heir of one 
who, it is admitted all round, was the master of the contro- 
verted property. Knowing his own business, this Mr. Effing- 
ham, in sight of the grave of his fathers, beneath the pater- 
nal roof, has the intolerable impudence 

“Arrogance is the word. Jack,” said Mr. Effingham, 
smiling. 

“ Aye, the intolerable arrogance to suppose that his own is 
his own ; and this he dares to affirm, without having had the 
politeness to send his title-deeds and private papers round to 
those who have been so short a time in the place, that they 


HOME AS FOUND. 


253 


might well know everything that has occurred in it for 
the last half century. O thou naughty, arrogant fellow, 
Ned !” 

“Mr. John, you appear to forget that the public has 
more claims to be treated with attention than a single 
individual. If it has fallen into error, it ought to be unde- 
ceived.” 

“ No doubt, sir ; and I advise Mr. Effingham to send you, 
his agent, to every man, woman, and child in the county, 
with the Patent of the King, all the mesne conveyances and 
wills, in your pocket, in order that you may read them at 
length to each individual, with a view that every man, wo- 
man, and child, may be satisfied that he or she is not the 
owner of Edward Effingham’s lands !” 

“ Nay, sir, a shorter process might be adopted.” 

“ It might, indeed, sir, and such a process has been adopt: 
ed by my cousin, in giving the usual notice, in the news- 
paper, against trespassing. But, Mr. Bragg, you must know 
that I took great pains, three years since, when repairing 
this house, to correct the mistake on this very point, into 
which I found that your immaculate public had fallen, 
through its disposition to know more of other people’s af- 
fairs than those concerned knew of themselves.” 

Aristabnlus said no more, but gave the matter up in de- 
spair. On quitting the house, he proceeded forthwith to 
inform those most interested of the determination of Mr. 
Effingham not to be trampled on by any pretended meeting 
of the public. Common sense, not to say common honesty, 
began to resume its sway, and prudence put in its plea, by 
way of applying the corrective. Both he and Mr. Dodge, 
however, agreed that there was an unheard-of temerity in 
thus resisting the people, and this too without a commen- 
surate object, as the pecuniary value of the disputed point 
was of no material consequence to either party. 

The reader is not by any means to suppose that Arista- 


254 


HOME AS FOUND. 


biilus Bragg and Steadfast Dodge belonged to the same 
variety of the human species, in consequence of their unity 
of sentiment in this affair, and certain other general points 
of resemblance in their manner and modes of thinking. As 
a matter of necessity, each partook of those features of caste, 
condition, origin, and association, that characterize their par- 
ticular set ; but when it came to the nicer distinctions that 
mark true individuality, it would not have been easy to find 
two men more essentially different in character. The first 
was bold, morally and physically, aspiring, self-possessed, 
shrewd, singularly adapted to succeed in his schemes where 
he knew the parties, intelligent after his tastes, and apt. 
Had it been his fortune to be thrown earlier into a better 
sphere, the same natural qualities that rendered him so ex- 
pert in his present situation, would have conduced to his im- 
provement, and most probably would have formed a gentle- 
man, a scholar, and one who could have contributed largely 
to the welfare and tastes of his fellow-creatures. That such 
was not his fate, was more his misfortune than his fault, for 
his plastic character had readily taken the impression of 
those things that from propinquity alone pressed hardest on 
it. On the other hand Steadfast was a hypocrite by nature, 
cowardly, envious, and malignant ; and circumstances had 
only lent their aid to the natural tendencies of his disposi- 
tion. That two men so differently constituted at their 
births, should meet, as it might be, in a common centre, in 
so many of their habits and opinions, was merely the result 
of accident and education. 

Among the other points of resemblance between these 
two persons, was that fault of confounding the cause with 
the effects of the peculiar institutions under which they had 
been educated and lived. Because the law gave to the pub- 
lic that authority which, under other systems, is intrusted 
either to one or to the few, they believed the public was in- 
vested with far more power than a right understanding of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


255 


their own principles would have shown. In a word, both 
these persons made a mistake which is getting to be too 
common in America, that of supposing the institutions of 
the country were all means and no end. Under this erro- 
neous impression they saw only the machinery of the govern- 
ment, becoming entirely forgetful that the power which was 
given to the people collectively, was only so given to secure 
to them as perfect a liberty as possible, in their characters 
of individuals. Neither had risen sufficiently above vulgar 
notions, to understand that public opinion, in order to be 
omnipotent, or even formidable beyond the inflictions of the 
moment, must be right ; and that if a solitary man renders 
himself contemptible by taking up false notions inconsi- 
derately and unjustly, bodies of men, falling into the same 
error, incur the same penalties, with the additional stigma 
of having acted as cowards. 

There was also another common mistake into which 
Messrs. Bragg and Dodge had permitted themselves to fall^ 
through the want of a proper distinction between principles. 
Resisting the popular will, on the part of an individual, they 
considered arrogance and aristocracy, 'per se^ without at all 
entering into the question of the right or the wrong. The 
people, rightly enough in the general signification of the 
term, they deemed to be sovereign ; and they belonged to 
a numerous class, who view disobedience to the sovereign 
in a democracy, although it be in his illegal caprices, very 
much as the subject of a despot views disobedience to his 
prince. 

It is scarcely necessary to say, that Mr. Effingham and 
his cousin viewed these matters differently. Clear-headed, 
just-minded, and liberal in all his practices, the former, in 
particular, was greatly pained by the recent occurrence ; and 
he paced his library in silence, for several minutes after Mr. 
Bragg and his companion had withdrawn, really too much 
grieved to speak. 


256 


home as found. 


“This is altogether a most extraordinary procedure, 
John,” he at length observes, “ and it strikes me that it is 
but an indifferent reward for the liberality with which I 
have permitted others to use my property these thirty 
years ; often, very often, as you well know, to my own dis- 
comfort, and to that of my friends.” 

“ I have told you, Ned, that you were not to expect the 
America on your return, that you left behind you on your 
departure for Europe. I insist that no country has so much 
altered for the worse in so short a time.” 

“That unequalled pecuniary prosperity should sensibly 
impair the manners of what is termed the world, by intro- 
ducing suddenly large bodies of uninstructed and untrained 
men and women into society, is a natural consequence of 
obvious causes ; that it should corrupt morals even, we have 
a right to expect, for we are taught to believe it the most 
corrupting influence under which men can live ; but I con- 
fess I did not expect to see the day when a body of strangers, 
birds of passage, creatures of an hour, should assume a 
right to call on the old and long-established inhabitants of 
a country to prove their claims to their possessions, and 
this, too, in an unusual and unheard of manner, under the 
penalty of being violently deprived of them ! ” 

“Long established!” repeated John Effingham, laugh- 
ing ; “ what do you term long established ? Have you not 
been absent a dozen years, and do not these people reduce 
everything to the level of their own habits? I suppose, 
now, you fancy you can go to Rome, or Jerusalem, or 
Constantinople, and remain four or five lustra, and then 
come coolly back to Templeton, and, on taking possession 
of this house again, call yourself an old resident.” 

“ I certainly do suppose I have that right. How many 
English, Russians, and Germans did we meet in Italy, the 
residents of years, who still retained all their natural and 
local rights and feelings 1 ” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


257 


“ Aye, that is in countries where society is permanent, 
and men get accustomed to look on the same objects, hear 
the same names, and see the same faces for their entire lives. 
I have had the curiosity to inquire, and have ascertained 
that none of the old, permanent families have been active 
in this affair of the Point, but that all the clamor has been 
made by those you call the birds of passage. But what of 
that ? These people fancy everything reduced to the legal 
six months required to vote ; and that rotation in persons is 
as necessary to republicanism as rotation in office.” 

“ Is it not extraordinary that persons who can know so 
little on the subject, should be thus indiscreet and positive ?” 

“ It is not extraordinary in America. Look about you, 
Ned, and you will see adventurers uppermost everywhere ; 
in the government, in the towns, in your villages, in the 
country, even. We are a nation of changes. Much of 
this, I admit, is the fair consequence of legitimate causes, as 
an immense region, in forest, cannot be peopled on any 
other conditions. But this necessity has infected the entire 
national character, and men get to be impatient of any 
sameness, even though it be useful. Everything goes to 
confirm this feeling, instead of opposing it. The constant 
recurrences of the elections accustom men to changes in 
their public functionaries ; the great increase in the popula- 
tion brings new faces; and the sudden accumulations of 
property place new men in conspicuous stations. The 
architecture of the country is barely becoming sufficiently 
respectable to render it desirable to preserve the buildings, 
without which we shall have no monuments to revere. In 
short, everything contributes to produce such a state of 
things, painful as it may be to all of any feeling, and little 
to oppose it.” 

“ You color highly. Jack ; and no picture loses in tints, 
in being retouched by you.” 

“ Look into the first paper that offers, and you will see 


258 


HOME AS FOUND 


the young men of the country hardily invited to meet by 
themselves, to consult concerning public affairs, as if they 
were impatient of the counsels and experience of their 
fathers. No country can prosper where the ordinary mode 
of transacting the business connected with the root of the 
government, commences with this impiety.” 

“ This is a disagreeable feature in the national character, 
certainly; but you must remember the arts employed by 
the designing to practise on the inexperienced.” 

“Had I a son who presumed to denounce the wisdom 
and experience of his father, in this disrespectful manner, I 
would disinherit the rascal ! ” 

“ Ah, Jack, bachelors’ children are notoriously well edu- 
cated and well mannered. We will hope, however, that 
time will bring its changes also, and that one of them will 
be a greater constancy in persons, things, and the affections.” 

“ Time will bring its changes, Ned ; but all of them 
that are connected with individual rights, as opposed to 
popular caprice or popular interests, are likely to be in the 
wrong direction.” 

“ The tendency is certainly to substitute popularity for 
the right, but we must take the good with the bad. Even 
you. Jack, would not exchange this popular oppression for 
any other system under which you have lived.” 

“ I don’t know that — I don’t know that. Of all tyranny, 
a vulgar tyranny is to me the most odious.” 

“You used to admire the English system, but I think 
observation has lessened your particular admiration in that 
quarter,” said Mr. Effingham, smiling in a way that his 
cousin perfectly understood. 

“ Harkee, Ned, we all take up false notions in our youth, 
and this was one of mine ; but of the two, I should prefer 
the cold, dogged domination of English law, with its fruits, 
the heartlessness of a sophistication without parallel, to 
being trampled on by every arrant blackguard that may 


HOME AS i-OUNH, 


269 


happen to traverse this valley in his wanderings after dollars. 
There is one thing you yourself must admit ; the public is a 
little too apt to neglect the duties it ought to discharge, and 
to assume duties it has no right to fulfil.” 

This remark ended the discourse. 


260 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XVL 

“Her breast was a brave palace, a broad street, 

Where all heroic, ample thoughts did meet, 

Where nature such a tenement had ta’en. 

That other souls, to hers, dwell in a lane.” 

John Noeton. 

The village of Templeton, it has been already intimated, 
was a miniature town. Although it contained within the 
circle of its houses, half-a-dozen residences with grounds, 
and which were dignified with names, as has also been said, 
it did not cover a surface of more than a mile square ; that 
disposition to concentration, which is as peculiar to an 
American town, as the disposition to difiusion is peculiar to 
the country population, and which seems almost to pre- 
scribe that a private dwelling shall have but three windows 
in front, and a facade of twenty-five feet, having presided at 
the birth of this spot, as well as at the birth of so many of 
its predecessors and contemporaries. In one of its more 
retired streets (for Templeton had its publicity and retire- 
ment, the latter after a very village fashion, however), dwelt 
a widow-bewitched of small worldly means, five children, 
and of great capacity for circulating intelligence. Mrs. 
Abbott, for so was this demi-relict called, was just on the 
verge of what is termed the “ good society” of the village, 
the most uneasy of all positions for an ambitious and ci- 
devant pretty woman to be placed in. She had not yet 
abandoned the hope of obtaining a divorce and its suites ; 
was singularly, nay, rabidly devout, if we may coin the 
adverb ; in her own eyes she was perfection, in those of her 
neighbors slightly objectionable ; and she was altogether a 


HOME AS FOUND. 


261 


droll, and by no means an unusual compound of piety, cen- 
soriousness, charity, proscription, gossip, kindness, meddling, 
ill-nature, and decency. 

The establishment of Mrs. Abbott, like her house, was 
necessarily very small, and she kept no servant but a girl 
she called her help — a very suitable appellation by the way, 
as they did most of the work of the m&nage in common. 
This girl, in addition to cooking and washing, was the con- 
fidante of all her employer’s wandering notions of mankind 
in general, and of her neighbors in particular; as often 
helping her mistress in circulating her comments on the 
latter, as in anything else. 

Mrs. Abbott knew nothing of the EflSnghams, except by 
a hearsay that got its intelligence from her own school, 
being herself a late arrival in the place. She had selected 
Templeton as a residence on account of its cheapness, and 
having neglected to comply with the fonus of the world, by 
hesitating about making the customary visit to the Wig- 
wam, she began to resent, in her spirit at least. Eve’s deli- 
cate forbearance from obtruding herself, where, agreeably to 
all usage, she had a perfect right to suppose she was not 
desired. It was in this spirit, then, that she sat conversing 
with Jenny, as the maid of all-work was called, the morning 
after the conversation related in the last chapter, in her snug 
little parlor, sometimes plying her needle, and oftener thrust- 
ing her head out of a window which commanded a view of 
the principal street of the place, in order to see what her 
neighbors might be about. 

“ This is a most extraordinary course Mr. EflSngham has 
taken concerning the Point,” said Mrs. Abbott, “and I do 
hope the people will bring him to his senses. Why, Jenny, 
the public has used that place ever since I can remember, 
and I have now lived in Templeton quite fifteen months. 
What can induce Mr. Howel to go so often to that bar- 
ber’s shop, which stands directly opposite the parlor win- 


262 


HOME AS FOUND. 


dows of Mrs. Bennett — one would tliink the man was all 
beard.” 

“ I suppose Mr. Howel gets shaved sometimes,” said the 
logical Jenny. 

“ Not he ; or if he does, no decent man would think of 
posting himself before a lady’s window to do such a thing. 
Orlando Furioso,” calling to her eldest son, a boy of eleven, 

“ run over to Mr. Jones’s store and listen to what the people 
are talking about, and bring me back the news, as soon as 
anything worth hearing drops from anybody; and stop as 
you come back, my son, and borrow neighbor Brown’s 
gridiron. Jenny, it is most time to think of putting over 
the potatoes.” 

“ Ma’ — ” cried Orlando Furioso, from the front door, Mrs. 
Abbott being very rigid in requiring that all her children 
should call her ‘ ma’,’ being so much behind the age as 
actually not to know that ‘mother’ had got to be much 
the genteeler term of the two ; “ Ma’,” roared Orlando 
Furioso, suppose there is no news at Mr. Jones’s store ? ” 
“Then go to the nearest tavern; something must be 
stirring this fine morning, and I am dying to know what it 
can possibly be. Mind you bring something besides the 
gridiron back with you. Hurry, or never come home again 
as long as you live ! As I was saying, Jenny, the right of 
the public, which is our right, for we are part of the public, 
to this Point, is as clear as day, and I am only astonished at 
the impudence of Mr. Effingham in pretending to deny it. 
I dare say his French daughter has put him up to it. They 
say she is monstrous arrogant ! ” 

“Is Eve Eflingham, French,” said Jenny, studiously avoid- 
ing any of the usual terms of civility and propriety, by way 
of showing her breeding — “ well, I had always thought her 
nothing but Templeton born ! ” 

“ What signifies where a person was born? where they 
live is the essential thing ; and Eve Effingham has lived so 


HOME AS FOUND. 


263 


long in France, that she speaks nothing but broken English ; 
and Miss Debby told me last week, that in drawing up a 
subscription paper for a new cushion to the reading-desk of 
her people, she actually spelt ‘ charity’ ‘ carrotty.’ ” 

“ Is that French, Miss Abbott ? ” 

“I rather think it is, Jenny; the French are very nig- 
gardly, and give their poor carrots to live on, and so they 
have adopted the word, I suppose. You, Byansy-Alzumy- 
Ann (Bianca- Alzuma-Ann !”) 

“ Marm ! ” 

“ Byansy-Alzumy-Ann ! who taught you to call me marm ! 
Is this the way you have learned your catechism ? ^y ma’, 
this instant.” 

“ Ma’.” 

“ Take your bonnet, my child, and run down to Mrs. 
Wheaton’s, and ask her if anything new has turned up 
about the Point this morning ; and, do you hear, Byansy- 
Alzumy-Ann Abbott — how the child starts away, as if she 
were sent on a matter of life and death !” 

“ Why, ma’, I want to hear the news, too.” 

“Very likely, my dear, but by stopping to get your 
errand, you may learn more than by being in such, a hurr}\ 
Stop in at Mrs. Green’s, and ask how the people liked the 
lecture of the strange parson last evening — and ask her if 
she can lend me a watering-pot. Now, run, and be back 
as soon as possible. Never loiter when you carry news, 
child.” 

“No one has a right to stop the man, I believe. Miss 
Abbott,” put in Jenny, very appositely. 

“ That, indeed, have they not, or else we could not calcu- 
late the consequences. You may remember, Jenny, the 
pious, even, had to give up that point, public convenience 
being too strong for them. Roger-Demetrius-Benjamin !” 
— calling to a second boy, two years younger than his 
brother — “your eyes are better than mine — who are all 


264 


HOME AS FOUND. 


those people collected together in the street ? Is not Mr. 
Howel among them ? ” 

“ I do not know, ma’ ! ” answered Roger-Demetrius- 
Benjamin, gaping. 

“ Then run this minute and see, and don’t stop to look for 
your hat. As you come hack, step into the tailor’s shop 
and ask if your new jacket is most done, and what the news 
is ? I rather think, Jenny, we shall find out something 
worth hearing in the course of the day. By the way, they 
do say that Grace Van Courtlandt, Eve Effingham’s cousin, 
is under concern.” 

“ Wdl, she is the last person I should think would be 
troubled about anything, for everybody says she is so 
desperate rich she might eat off of silver if she liked ; and 
she is sure of being married some time or other.” 

“ That ought to lighten her concern, you think. Oh ! it 
does my heart good when I see any of those flaunty people 
right well exercised! Kothing would make me happier 
than to see Eve Effingham groaning fairly in the spirit! 
That would teach her to take away the people’s Points.” 

“ But, Miss Abbott, then she would become almost as 
good a woman as you are yourself.” 

“ I am a miserable, graceless, awfully wicked sinner ! 
Twenty times a day do I doubt whether I am actually con- 
verted or not. Sin has got such a hold of my very heart- 
strings, that I sometimes think they will crack before it lets 
go. Rinaldo-Rinaldini-Timothy, my child, do you toddle 
across the way, and give my compliments to Mrs. Hulbert, 
and inquire if it be true that young Dickson, the lawyer, is 
really engaged to Aspasia Tubbs or not? and borrow a 
skimmer or a tin pot, or anything you can carry, for we 
may want something of the sort in the course of the day. 
I do believe, Jenny, that a worse creature than myself is 
hardly to be found in Templeton.” 

“Why, Miss Abbott,” returned Jenny, who had heard 


HOME AS FOUND. 


265 


too much of this self-abasement to be much alarmed at it, 
“ this is giving almost as bad an account of yourself as I 
heard somebody, that I won’t name, give of you last week.” 

“ And who is your somebody, I should like to know ? I 
dare say one no better than a formalist, who thinks that 
reading prayers out of a book, kneeling, bowing, and chang- 
ing gowns, is religion ! Thank Heaven, I’m pretty indif- 
ferent to the opinions of such people. Harkee, Jenny, if I 
thought I was no better than some persons I could name? 
I’d give the point of salvation up in despair !” 

“ Miss Abbott,” roared a ragged, dirty-faced, bare-footed 
boy, who entered without knocking, and stood in the mid- 
dle of the room, with his hat on, with a suddenness that 
denoted great readiness in entering other people’s posses- 
sions ; “ Miss Abbott, ma’ wants to know if you are likely 
to go from home this week ?” 

“ Wiy, what in nature can she want to know that for. 
Ordeal Bumgrum ?” Mrs. Abbott pronounced this singular 
name, however, “ Ordeel.” 

“ Oh ! she warnts to know.” 

“ So do I warnt to know ; and know I will. Run home 
this instant, and ask your mother why she has sent you 
here with this message. Jenny, I am much exercised to 
find out the reason Mrs. Bumgrum should have sent Ordeal 
over with such a question.” 

“ I did hear that Miss Bumgrum intended to make a 
journey herself, and she may want your company.” 

“ Here comes Ordeal back, and we shall soon be out of 
the clouds. What a boy that is for errands ! He is worth 
all my sons put together. You never see him losing time 
by going round by the streets, but away he goes over the 
garden fences like a cat, or he will whip through a house, if 
standing in his way, as if he were its owner, should the door 
happen to be open. Well, Ordeal ?” 

But Ordeal was out of breath, and although Jenny shook 
12 


266 


HOME AS FOUND. 


him, as if to shake the news out of him, and Mrs. x\bhott 
actually shook her fist, in her impatience to be enlightened, 
nothing could induce the child to speak until he had reco- 
vered his wind. 

“ I believe he does it on purpose,” said the provoked 
maid. 

“ It’s just like him !” cried the mistress ; “ the very best 
newscarrier in the village is actually spoilt because he is 
thick-winded.” 

“ I wish folks wouldn’t make their fences so high,” Or- 
deal exclaimed, the instant he found breath. “ I can’t see 
of what use it is to make a fence people can’t climb !” 

“ What does your mother say ?” cried Jenny, repeating 
her shake con amore. 

“ Ma’ wants to know. Miss Abbott, if you don’t intend to 
use it yourself, if you will lend her your name for a few 
days to go to Utica with 1 She says folks don’t treat her half 
as well when she is called Bumgrum as when she has an- 
other name, and she thinks she’d like to try yours this time.” 

“ Is that all ! You needn’t have been so hurried about 
such a trifle. Ordeal. Give my compliments to your mo- 
ther, and tell her she is quite welcome to my name, and I 
hope it will be serviceable to her.” 

“ She says she is willing to pay for the use of it, if you 
will tell her what the damage will be.” 

“ Oh ! it’s not worth while to speak of such a trifle ; I 
dare say she will bring it back quite as good as when she 
took it away. I am no such unneighborly or aristocratical 
person as to wish to keep my name all to myself. Tell 
your mother she is welcome to mine, and to keep it as long 
as she likes, and not to say anything about pay ; I may 
want to borrow hers, or something else, one of these days, 
though, to say the truth, my neighbors are apt to complain 
of me as unfriendly and proud for not borrowing as much 
as a good neighbor ought.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


267 


Ordeal departed, leaving Mrs. Abbott in some such con- 
dition as that of the man who had no shadow. A rap at 
the door interrupted the further discussion of the old sub- 
ject, and Mr. Steadfast Dodge appeared in answer to the 
permission to enter. Mr. Dodge and Mrs. Abbott were 
congenial spirits in the way of news, he living by it, and 
she living on it. 

“ You are very welcome, Mr. Dodge,” the mistress of the 
house commenced. “ I hear you passed the day yesterday 
up at the Effinghamses.” 

“ Why, yes, Mrs. Abbott, the Effinghams insisted on it, 
and I could not well get over the sacrifice, after having 
been their shipmate so long. Besides, it is a little relief to 
talk French when one has been so long in the daily practice 
of it.” 

“ I hear there is company at the house ?” 

“ Two of our fellow-travellers, merely. An English baro- 
net, and a young man of whom less is known than one 
could wish. He is a mysterious person, and I hate mys- 
tery, Mrs. Abbott.” 

“ In that, then, Mr. Dodge, you and I are alike. I think 
everything should be known. Indeed, that is mot a free 
country in which there are any secrets. I keep nothing 
from my neighbors, and, to own the truth, I do not like my 
neighbors to keep anything from me.” 

“ Then you’ll hardly like the Effinghams, for I never yet 
met with a more close-mouthed family. Although I was 
so long in the ship with Miss Eve, I never heard her once 
speak of her want of appetite, of sea-sickness, or of anything 
relating to her ailings even ; nor can you imagine how close 
she is on the subject of the beaux ; I do not think I ever 
heard her use the word, or so much as allude to any walk 
or ride she ever took with a single man. I set her down, 
Mrs. Abbott, as unqualifiedly artful !” 

“ That you may with certainty, sir, for there is no more 


268 


HOME AS FOUND. 


sure sign that a young woman is all the while thinking of 
the beaux than her never mentioning them.” 

“ That I believe to be human nature ; no ingenuous per- 
son ever thinks much of the particular subject of conversa- 
tion. What is your opinion, Mrs. Abbott, of the contem- 
plated match at the Wigwam ?” 

“ Match !” exclaimed Mrs. Abbott. “ What, already ! It 
is the most indecent thing I ever heard of! Why, Mr. 
Dodge, the family has not been home a fortnight, and to 
think so soon of getting married I It is quite as bad as a 
widower’s marrying within the month.” 

Mrs. Abbott made a distinction, habitually, between the 
cases of widowers and widows, as the first, she maintained, 
might get married whenever they pleased, and the latter 
only when they got offers ; and she felt just that sort of 
horror of a man’s thinking of marrying too soon after the 
death of his wife, as might be expected in one who actually 
thought of a second husband before the first was dead. 

“ Why, yes,” returned Steadfast, “ it is a little premature, 
perhaps, though they have been long acquainted. Still, as 
you say, it would be more decent to wait and see what may 
turn up in a country, that, to them, may be said to be a 
foreign land.” 

“ But, who are the parties, Mr. Dodge ?” 

“ Miss Eve Effingham and Mr. John Effingham.” 

“Mr. John Effingham!” exclaimed the lady who had 
lent her name to a neighbor, aghast, for this was knocking 
one of her own day-dreams in the head ; “ well, this is too 
much ! But he shall not marry her, sir ; the law will pre- 
vent it, and we live in a country of laws. A man cannot 
marry his own niece.” 

“ It is excessively improper, and ought to be put a stop 
to. And yet these Effinghams do very much as they 
please.” 

“ I am very sorry to hear that ; they are extremely dis- 


HOME AS F O U N D . 


269 


agreeable,” said Mrs. Abbott, with a look oi eager inquiry, 
as if afraid the answer might be in the negative. 

“ As much so as possible ; they have hardly a way that 
you would like, my dear ma’am ; and are as close-mouthed 
as if they were afraid of committing themselves.” 

“ Desperate bad news-carriers, I am told, Mr. Dodge. 
There is Dorindy (Dorinda) Mudge, who was employed 
there by Eve and Grace one day ; she tells me she tried all 
she could to get them to talk, by speaking of the most com- 
mon things; things that one of my children knew all 
about, such as the affairs of the neighborhood, and how 
people are getting on ; and though they would listen a 
little, and that is something, I admit, not a syllable could 
she get in the way of answer or remark. She tells me that 
several times she had a mind to quit, for it is monstrous 
unpleasant to associate with your tongue-tied folks.” 

“ I dare say Miss Effingham could throw out a hint now 
and then, concerning the voyage and her late fellow- 
travellers,” said Steadfast, casting an uneasy glance at his 
companion. 

“ Not she. Dorindy maintains that it is impossible to 
get a sentiment out of her concerning a single fellow^-crea- 
ture. When she talked of the late unpleasant affair of poor 
neighbor Bronson’s family — a melancholy transaction that, 
Mr. Dodge, and I shouldn’t wonder if it went to nigh break 
Mrs. Bronson’s heart — but when Dorindy mentioned this, 
which is bad enough to stir the sensibility of a frog, neither 
of my young ladies replied, or put a single question. In this 
respect Grace is as bad as Eve, and Eve is as bad as Grace, 
they say. Instead of so much as seeming to wish to know 
any more, what does my Miss Eve do, but turn to some 
daubs of paintings, and point out to her cousin what she 
was pleased to term peculiarities in Swiss usages. Then 
the two hussies would talk of nature, ‘ our beautiful nature,’ 
Dorindy says Eve had the impudence to call it, and as if 


270 


HOME AS FOUND. 


human nature and its failings and backslidings were not a 
fitter subject for a young woman’s discourse, than a silly 
conversation about lakes, and rocks, and trees, as if she 
owned the nature about Templeton. It is my opinion, Mr. 
Dodge, that downright ignorance is at the bottom of it all, 
for Dorindy says that they actually know no more of the 
intricacies of the neighborhood than if they lived in 
Japan.” 

“ All pride, Mrs. Abbott — rank pride. They feel them- 
selves too great to enter into the minutiae of common folks’ 
concerns. I often tried Miss Effingham, coming from Eng- 
land , and things touching private interests, that I know she 
did and must understand, she always disdainfully refused to 
enter into. Oh ! she is a real Tartar in her way ; and 
what she does not wish to do, you never can make her 
dol” 

“ Have you heard that Grace is under concern ?” 

“Not a breath of it ; under whose preaching was she 
sitting, Mrs. Abbott ?” 

“ That is more than I can tell you ; not under the 
church parson’s. I’ll engage ; no one ever heard of a real, 
active, regenerating, soul-reviving, spirit-groaning, and fruit- 
yielding conversion under his ministry.” 

“ No ; there is very little unction in that persuasion 
generally. How cold and apathetic they are in these soul- 
stirring times! Not a sinner has been writhing on their 
floor. I’ll engage, nor a wretch transferred into a saint, in 
the twinkling of an eye, by that parson. Well, we have 
every reason to be grateful, Mrs. Abbott.” 

“ That we have, for most glorious have been our privi- 
leges ! To be sure that is a sinful pride that can puff up a 
wretched, sinful being like Eve Effingham to such a pass of 
conceit, as to induce her to think she is raised above think- 
ing of and taking an interest in the affairs of her neighbors. 
Now, for my part, conversion has so far opened my heart. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


271 


that I do actually feel as if I wanted to know all about the 
meanest creature in Templeton.” 

“ That’s the true spirit, Mrs. Abbott ; stick to that, and 
your redemption is secure. I only edit a newspaper, by 
way of showing an interest in mankind.” 

“ I hope, Mr. Dodge, the press does not mean to let this 
matter of the Point sleep ; the press is the true guardian of 
the public rights, and I can tell you the whole community 
looks to it for support in this crisis.” 

“ We shall not fail to do our duty,” said Mr. Dodge, look- 
ing over his shoulder, and speaking lower. “ What ! shall 
one insignificant individual, who has not a single right above 
that of the meanest citizen in the county, oppress this great 
and powerful community ! What if Mr. Effingham does 
own this point of land ” 

“ But he does not own it,” interrupted Mrs. Abbott. 
“ Ever since I have known Templeton the public has owned 
it. The public, moreover, says it owns it, and what the 
public says in this happy country is law.” 

“ But, allowing that the public does not own ” 

“ It does own it, Mr. Dodge,” the nameless repeated 
positively. 

“ Well, ma’am, own or no own, this is not a country in 
which the press ought to be silent, when a solitary indivi- 
dual undertakes to trample on the public. Leave that mat- 
ter to us, Mrs. Abbott; it is in good hands, and shall be well 
taken care of.” 

“ I’m piously glad of it !” 

“ I mention this to you as to a friend,” continued Mr. 
Dodge, cautiously drawing from his pocket a manuscript, 
which he prepared to read to his companion, who sat with 
a devouring curiosity, ready to listen. 

The manuscript of Mr. Dodge contained a professed 
account of the affair of the Point. It was written obscurely, 
and was not without its contradictions, but the imagination 


2V2 


HOME AS FOUND. 


of Mrs. Abbott supplied all the vacuums, and reconciled all 
the contradictions. The article was so liberal of its profes- 
sions of contempt for Mr. Effingham, that every rational 
man was compelled to wonder why a quality that is usually 
so passive, should in this particular instance be aroused to 
so sudden and violent activity. In the way of facts not one 
was faithfully stated ; and there were several deliberate, 
unmitigated falsehoods, which went essentially to color the 
whole account. 

“ I think this will answer the purpose,” said Steadfast, 
“ and we have taken means to see that it shall be well cir- 
culated.” 

“ This will do them good,” cried Mrs. Abbott, almost 
breathless with delight. “ I hope folks will believe it.” 

“ No fear of that. If it were a party thing, now, one 
half would believe it, as a matter of course, and the other 
half would not believe it, as a matter of course ; but in a 
private matter, Lord bless you, ma’am, people are always 
ready to believe anything that will give them something to 
talk about.” 

Here the tete-a-tete was interrupted by the return of Mrs. 
Abbott’s different messengers, all of whom, unlike the dove 
sent forth from the ark, brought back something in the way 
of hopes. The Point was a general theme, and though the 
several accounts flatly contradicted each other, Mrs. Abbott, 
in the general benevolence of her pious heart, found the 
means to extract corroboration of her wishes from each. 

Mr. Dodge was as good as his word, and the account ap- 
peared. The press, throughout the country, seized with 
avidity on anything that helped to fill its columns. No one 
appeared disposed to inquire into the truth of the account, 
or after the character of the original authority. It was in 
print, and that struck the great majority of the editors and 
their readers, as a sufficient sanction. Few, indeed, were 
they, who lived so much under a proper self-control as to 


HOME AS FOUND. 


273 


hesitate ; and this rank injustice was done a private citizen, 
as much without moral restraint as without remorse, by 
those who, to take their own accounts of the matter, were 
the regular and habitual champions of human rights ! 

John Effingham pointed out this extraordinary scene of 
reckless wrong to his wondering cousin, with the cool sar- 
casm with which he was apt to assail the weaknesses and 
crimes of the country. His firmness, united to that of his 
cousin, however, put a stop to the publication of the resolu- 
tions of Aristabulus’s meeting, and when a sufficient time 
had elapsed to prove that these prurient denouncers of their 
fellow-citizens had taken wit in their anger, he procured 
them, and had them published himself, as the most effectual 
means of exposing the real character of the senseless mob, 
that had thus disgraced liberty, by assuming its professions 
and its usages. 

To an observer of men, the end of this affair presented 
several strong points for comment. As soon as the truth 
became generally known in reference to the real ownership, 
and the public came to ascertain that instead of hitherto 
possessing a right, it had, in fact, been merely enjoying a 
favor, those who had committed themselves by their arro- 
gant assumptions of facts, and their indecent outrages, fell 
back on their self-love, and began to find excuses for their 
conduct in that of the other party. Mr. Effingham was 
loudly condemned for not having done the very thing, he, 
in truth, had done, viz. telling the public it did not own 
his property ; and when this was shown to be an absurdity, 
the complaint followed that what he had done, had been 
done in precisely such a mode, although it was the mode 
constantly used by every one else. From these vague and 
indefinite accusations, those most implicated in the wrong 
began to deny all their own original assertions, by insisting 
that they had known all along that Mr. Effingham owned 
12 * 


home as found. 


2U 

the property, but they did not choose he or any other man 
should presume to tell them what they knew already. In 
short, the end of this affair exhibited human nature in its 
usual aspects of prevarication, untruth, contradiction, and 
inconsistency, notwithstanding the high profession of liberty 
made by those implicated; and they who had been the 
most guilty of wrong, were loudest in their complaints, as 
if they alone had suffered. 

“ This is not exhibiting the country to us, certainly, after 
so long an absence, in its best appearance,” said Mr. Effing- 
ham, “ I must admit, John ; but error belongs to all re- 
gions, and to all classes of institutions.” 

“Aye, Ned, make the best of it, as usual; but, if you do 
not come round to my way of thinking, before you are a 
twelvemonth older, I shall renounce prophesying. I wish 
we could get at the bottom of Miss Effingham’s thoughts, 
on this occasion.” 

“Miss Effingham has been grieved, disappointed, nay, 
shocked,” said Eve, “ but still she will not despair of the 
Republic. None of our respectable neighbors, in the first 
place, have shared in this transaction, and that is something ; 
though I confess I feel some surprise that any considerable 
portion of a community, that respects itself, should quietly 
allow an ignorant fragment of its own numbers to misre- 
present it so grossly, in an affair that so nearly touches its 
own character for common sense and justice.” 

“ You have yet to learn. Miss Effingham, that men can get 
to be so saturated with liberty, that they become insensi- 
ble to the nicer feelings. The grossest enormities are con- 
stantly committed in this good Republic of ours, under the 
pretence of being done by the public, and for the public. 
The public have got to bow to that bugbear, quite as sub- 
missively as Gesler could have wished the Swiss to bow to 
his own cap, as to the cap of Rodolph’s substitute. Men will 


HOME AS F O U N D . 


275 


have idols, and the Americans have merely set up them- 
selves.” 

“ And yet, cousin Jack, you would he wretched were you 
doomed to live under a system less free. I fear you have 
the affectation of sometimes saying that which you do not 
exactly feel.” 


276 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


“ Come, these are no times to think of dreams — 

■We’ll talk of dreams hereafter,” 

Shaksfeare. 


The day succeeding that in which the conversation just 
.nentioned occurred, was one of great expectation and 
delight in the Wigwam. Mrs. Hawker and the Bloomfields 
were expected, and the morning passed away rapidly, under 
the gay buoyancy of the feelings that usually accompany 
such anticipations in a country-house. The travellers were 
to leave town the previous evening, and, though the distance 
was near two hundred and thirty miles, they were engaged 
to arrive at the usual dinner hour. In speed, the Ameri- 
cans, so long as they follow the great routes, are unsurpassed ; 
and even Sir George Templemore, coming, as he did, from 
a country of macadamized roads and excellent posting, ex- 
pressed his surprise, when given to understand that a journey 
of this length, near a hundred miles of which were by land 
moreover, was to he performed in twenty-four hours, the 
stops included. 

“One particularly likes this rapid travelling,” he re- 
marked, “when it is to bring us such friends as Mrs. 
Hawker.” 

“ And Mrs. Bloomfield,” added Eve, quickly. “ I rest the 
credit of the American females on Mrs. Bloomfield.” 

“ More so than on Mrs. Hawker, Miss Effingham ?” 

“ Not in all that is amiable, respectable, feminine, and 
lady-like; but certainly more so in the way of mind. I 


HOME AS FOUND. 


277 


know, Sir George Templemore, as a European, what your 
opinion is of our sex in this country.” 

“ Good heaven, my dear Miss Effingham ! — My opinion 
of your sex, in America ! It is impossible for any one to 
entertain a higher opinion of your countrywomen — as I 
hope to show — as, I trust, my respect and admiration have 
always proved; nay, Powis, you, as an American, will 
exonerate me from this want of taste — judgment — 
feeling 

Paul laughed, but told the embarrassed and really dis- 
tressed baronet, that he should leave him in the very excel- 
lent hands into which he had fallen. 

“ You see that bird, that is sailing so prettily above the 
roofs of the village,” said Eve, pointing with her parasol in 
the direction she meant ; for the three were walking toge- 
ther on the little lawn, in waiting for the appearance of the 
expected guests ; “ and I dare say you are ornithologist 
enough to tell its vulgar name.” 

“You are in the humor to be severe this morning — the 
bird is but a common swallow.” 

“ One of which will not make a summer, as every one 
knows. Our cosmopolitism is already forgotten, and with 
it, I fear, our frankness.” 

“ Since Powis has hoisted his national colors, I do not 
feel as free on such subjects as formerly,” returned Sir George, 
smiling. “ When I thought I had a secret ally in him, I 
was not afraid to concede a little in such things, but his 
avowal of his country has put me on my guard. In no case, 
however, shall I admit my insensibility to the qualities of 
your countrywomen. Powis, as a native, may take that 
liberty ; but, as for myself, I shall insist they are at least 
the equals of any females that I know.” 

“ In naivete^ prettiness, delicacy of appearance, simplicity, 
and sincerity ” 

“ In sincerity, think you, dear Miss Effingham ?” 


27S 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“In sincerity, above all tilings, dear Sir George Temple- 
more. Sincerity — nay, frankness is tlie last quality I 
should think of denying them.” 

“But to return to Mrs. Bloomfield — she is clever, ex- 
ceedingly clever, I allow ; in what is her cleverness to be 
distinguished from that of one of her sex on the other side 
of the ocean ?” 

“In nothing, perhaps, did there exist no differences in 
national characteristics. Naples and New York are in the 
same latitude, and yet, I think you will agree with me that 
there is little resemblance in their populations.” 

“ I confess I do not understand the allusion — are you 
quicker witted, Powis ?” 

“ I will not say that,” answered Paul ; “ but I think I do 
comprehend Miss Effingham’s meaning. You have travel- 
led enough to know, that, as a rule, there is more aptitude 
in a southern than in a northern people. They receive im- 
pressions more readily, and are quicker in all their per- 
ceptions.” 

“ I believe this to be true ; but then, you will allow 
that they are less constant, and have less perseverance ?” 

“In that we are agreed. Sir George Templemore,” re- 
sumed Eve, “ though we might differ as to the cause. The 
inconstancy of which you speak, is more connected with 
moral than physical causes, perhaps, and we, of this region, 
might claim an exemption from some of them. But 
Mrs. Bloomfield is to be distinguished from her European 
rivals by a frame so singularly feminine as to appear fragile; 
a delicacy of exterior, that, were it not for that illumined 
face of hers, might indicate a general feebleness ; a sensitive- 
ness and quickness of intellect that amount almost to inspi- 
ration ; and yet all is balanced by a practical common sense, 
that renders her as safe a counsellor as she is a warm friend. 
This latter quality causes you sometimes to doubt her genius, 
it is so very homely and available. Now it is in this, that 


HOME AS FOUND. 


2V9 


I think the American woman, when she does rise above 
mediocrity, is particularly to be distinguished from the Euro- 
pean. The latter, as a genius, is almost always in the clouds, 
whereas Mrs. Bloomfield, in her highest flights, is either all 
heart or all good sense. The nation is practical, and the 
practical qualities get to be imparted even to its highest 
order of talents.” 

“ The English women are thought to be less excitable, and 
not so much under the influence of sentimentalism, as some 
of their continental neighbors.” 

“ And very justly — but- ” 

“ But what. Miss Efiingham — there is in all this a slight 
return to the cosmopolitism, that reminds me of our days 
of peril and adventure. Do not conceal a thought, if you 
wish to preserve that character.” 

“Well, to be sincere, I shall say that your women live 
under a system too sophisticated and factitious to give fair 
play to common sense, at all times. What, for instance, 
can be the habitual notions of one, who, professing the 
doctrines of Christianity, is accustomed to find money 
placed so very much in the ascendant, as to see it daily ex- 
acted in payment for the very first of the sacred offices of the 
church ? It would be as rational to contend that a mirror 
which had been cracked into radii by a bullet, like those 
we have so often seen in Paris, would reflect faithfully, as to 
suppose a mind familiarized to such abuses would be sensi- 
tive on practical and common sense things.” 

“ But, my dear Miss Effingham, that is all habit.’* 

“ I know it is all habit. Sir George Templemore, and a 
very bad habit it is. Even your devoutest clergymen get 
so accustomed to it, as not to see the capital mistake they 
make. I do not say it is absolutely sinful, where there is no 
compulsion; but I hope you agree with me, Mr. Powis, 
when I say I think a clergyman ought to be so sensitive on 
such a subject, as to refuse even the little offerings for 


280 


HOME AS FOUND. 


baptisms that it is the practice of the wealthy of this 
country to make.” 

“ I agree with you entirely, for it would denote a more 
just perception of the nature of the office they are per- 
forming ; and they who wish to give can always make occa- 
sions.” 

“ A hint might be taken from Franklin, who is said to 
have asked his father to ask a blessing on the pork-barrel, 
by way of condensation,” put in John Effingham, who 
joined them as he spoke, and who had heard a part of the 
conversation. “ In this instance, an average might be struck 
in the marriage fee, that should embrace all future baptisms. 
But here comes neighbor Howel to favor us with his opinion. 
Do you like the usages of the English church, as respects 
baptisms, Howel ?” 

“Excellent, the best in the world, John Effingham.” 

“ Mr. Howel is so true an Englishman,” said Eve, shaking 
hands cordially with their well-meaning neighbor, “ that he 
would give a certificate in favor of polygamy, if it had a 
British origin.” 

“ And is not this a more natural sentiment for an Ameri- 
can than that which distrusts so much, merely because it 
comes from that little island ?” asked Sir George reproach- 
fully. 

“ That is a question I shall leave Mr. Howel himself to 
answer.” 

“ Why, Sir George,” observed the gentleman alluded to, 
“ I do not attribute my respect for your country, in the 
least, to origin. I endeavor to keep myself free from all 
sorts of prejudices. My admiration of England arises from 
conviction, and I watch all her movements with the utmost 
jealousy, in order to see if I cannot find her tripping, though 
I feel bound to say I have never yet detected her in a single 
error. W^hat a very different picture, France — I hope your 
governess is not within hearing. Miss Eve ; it is not her 


HOME AS FOUND. 


281 


fault she was born a French woman, and we would not 
wish to hurt her feelings — but what a different picture 
France presents ! I have watched her narrowly too, these 
forty years, I may say, and I have never yet found her right ; 
and this, you must allow, is a great deal to be said by one 
who is thoroughly impartial.” 

“ This is a terrible picture, indeed, Howel, to come from 
an unprejudiced man,” said John EflSngham ; “ and I make 
no doubt Sir George Templemore will have a better opinion 
of himself, for ever after — he for a valiant lion, and you for 
a true prince. But yonder is the ‘ exclusive extra,’ which 
contains our party.” 

The elevated bit of lawn on which they were walking 
commanded a view of the road that led into the village, and 
the travelling vehicle engaged by Mrs. Hawker and her 
friends was now seen moving along at a rapid pace. Eve 
expressed her satisfaction, and then all resumed their walk, 
as some minutes must still elapse previously to their arri- 
val. 

“ Exclusive extra !” repeated Sir George ; “ that is a 
peculiar phrase, and one that denotes anything but de- 
mocracy.” 

“ In any other part of the world a thing would be suffi- 
ciently marked, by being ‘ extra,’ but here it requires the 
addition of ‘exclusive,’ in order to give it the ‘tower stamp,’ ” 
said John Effingham, with a curl of his handsome lip. “Any- 
thing may be as exclusive as it please, provided it bear the 
public impress. A stage-coach being intended for every- 
body, why, the more exclusive it is, the better. The next 
thing we shall hear of will be exclusive steamboats, exclu- 
sive railroads, and both for the uses of the exclusive 
people.” 

Sir George now seriously asked an explanation of the 
meaninrr of the term, when Mr. Howel informed him that an 
“extra” in America meant a supernumerary coach, to carry 


282 


HOME AS FOUND. 


any excess of the ordinary number of passengers ; where- 
as an “ exclusive extra ” meant a coach expressly engaged 
by a particular individual. 

“The latter, then, is American posting,” observed Sir 
George. 

“You have got the best idea of it that can be given,” 
said Paul. “ It is virtually posting with a coachman, in- 
stead of postillions, few persons in this country, where so 
much of the greater distances is done by steam, using their 
own travelling carriages. The American ‘exclusive extra’ 
is not only posting, but, in many of the older parts of the 
country, is posting of a very good quality.” 

“ I dare say, now, this is all wrong, if we only knew it,” 
said the simple-minded Mr. Howel. “There is nothing 
exclusive in England, ha. Sir George ?” 

Everybody laughed except the person who put this 
question, but the rattling of wheels and the tramping of 
horses on the village bridge, announced the near approach 
of the travellers. By the time the party had reached 
the great door in front of the house, the carriage was 
already in the grounds, and at the next moment Eve was 
in the arms of Mrs. Bloomfield. It was apparent, at a 
glance, that more than the expected number of guests was 
in the vehicle ; and as its contents were slowly discharged, 
the spectators stood around it with curiosity, to observe 
who would appear. 

The first person that descended, after the exit of Mrs. 
Bloomfield, was Captain Truck, who, however, instead of 
saluting his friends, turned assiduously to the door he had 
just passed through, to assist Mrs. Hawker to alight. Not 
until this office had been done, did he even look for Eve ; 
for, so profound was the worthy captain’s admiration and 
respect for this venerable lady, that she actually had got to 
supplant our heroine, in some measure, in his heart. Mr. 
Bloomfield appeared next, and an exclamation of surprise 


HOME AS FOUND. 


283 


and pleasure proceeded from both Paul and the baronet, as 
they caught a glimpse of the face of the last of the travel- 
lers that got out. 

“ Ducie !” cried Sir George. “ This is even better than we 
expected.” 

“ Ducie !” added Paul ; “ you are several days before the 
expected time, and in excellent company.” 

The explanation, however, was very simple. Captain 
Ducie had found the facilities for rapid motion much greater 
than he had expected, and he reached Fort Plain, in the east- 
ward cars, as the remainder of the party arrived in the west- 
ward. Captain Truck, who had met Mrs. Hawker’s party 
in the river boat, had been intrusted with the duty of 
making arrangements, and recognising Captain Ducie, to 
their mutual surprise, while engaged in this employment, 
and ascertaining his destination, the latter was very cor- 
dially received into the “exclusive extra.” 

Mr. Effingham welcomed all his guests with the hospi- 
tality and kindness for which he was distinguished. We 
are no great admirers of the pretension to peculiar national 
virtues, having ascertained, to our own satisfaction, by tolera- 
bly extensive observation, that the moral difference between 
men is of no great amount ; but we are almost tempted to 
say, on this occasion, that Mr. Effingham received his guests 
with American hospitality ; for if there be one quality that 
this people can claim to possess in a higher degree than that 
of most other Christian nations, it is that of a simple, sin- 
cere, confiding hospitality. For Mrs. Hawker, in common 
with all who knew her, the owner of the Wigwam enter- 
tained a profound respect ; and though his less active mind 
did not take as much pleasure as that of his daughter in 
the almost intuitive intelligence of Mrs. Bloomfield, he also 
felt for this lady a very friendly regard. It gave him plea- 
sure to see Eve surrounded by persons of her own sex, of so 
high a tone of thought and breeding ; a tone of thought 


284 


HOME AS FOUND. 


and breeding, moreover, that was as far removed as possible 
from anything strained or artificial ; and his welcomes were 
cordial in proportion. Mr. Bloomfield was a quiet, sensible, 
gentlemanlike man, whom his wife fervently loved, without 
making any parade of her attachment, and he also was one 
who had the good sense to make himself agreeable wher- 
ever he went. Captain Ducie, who, Englishman-like, had 
required some urging to be induced to present himself 
before the precise hour named in his own letter, and who 
had seriously contemplated passing several days in a tavern, 
previous to showing himself at the Wigwam, was agreeably 
disappointed at a reception, that would have been just as 
frank and warm, had he come without any notice at all : 
for the Effinghams knew that the uses which sophistication 
and a crowded population perhaps render necessary in older 
countries, were not needed in their own ; and then the cir- 
cumstance that their quondam pursuer was so near a kins- 
man of Paul Powis, did not fail to act essentially in his 
favor. 

“We can ofifer but little in these retired mountains, to 
interest a traveller and a man of the world. Captain Ducie,” 
said Mr. Effingham, when he went to pay his compliments 
more particularly, after the whole party was in the house ; 

“ but there is a common interest in our past adventures to 
talk about, after all other topics fail. When we met on the 
ocean, and you deprived us so unexpectedly of our friend 
Powis, we did not know that you had the better claim of 
affinity to his company.” 

Captain Ducie colored slightly, but he made his answer 
with a proper degree of courtesy and gratitude. 

“ It is very true,” he added, “ Powis and myself are rela- 
tives, and I shall place all my claims to your hospitality to 
his account ; for I feel that I have been the unwilling cause 
of too much suffering to your party, to bring with me any 
very pleasant recollections, notwithstanding your kindness 


HOME AS FOUND. 


285 


in including me as a friend, in the adventures of which you 
speak. 

“ Dangers that are happily past seldom bring very un- 
pleasant recollections, more especially when they were con- 
nected with scenes of excitement. I understand, sir, that 
the unhappy young man who was the principal cause of all 
that passed, anticipated the sentence of the law by destroy- 
ing himself.” 

“ He was his own executioner, and the victim of a silly 
weakness that, I should think, your state of society was yet 
too young and simple to encourage. The idle vanity of 
making an appearance — a vanity, by the way, that seldom 
besets gentlemen, or the class to which it may be thought 
more properly to belong — ruins hundreds of young men in 
England, and this poor creature was of the number. I 
never was more rejoiced than when he quitted my ship, for 
the sight of so much weakness sickened one of human 
nature. Miserable as his fate proved to be, and pitiable as 
his condition really was, while in my charge, his case has 
the alleviating circumstance with me, of having made me 
acquainted with those whom it might not otherwise have 
been my good fortune to meet !” 

This civil speech was properly acknowledged, and Mr. 
Efinghara addressed himself to Captain Truck, to whom, in 
the hurry of the moment, he had not yet said half that his 
feelings dictated. 

“ I am rejoiced to see you under my roof, my worthy 
friend,” taking the rough hand of the old seaman between 
his own whiter and more delicate fingers, and shaking it 
with cordiality, “ for this is being under my roof, while those 
town residences have less the air of domestication and 
familiarity. You will spend many of your holidays here, I 
trust ; and when Ave get a few years older we will begin to 
prattle about the marvels we have seen in company.” 

The eye of Captain Truck glistened, and as he returned 


286 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the shake by another of twice the energy, and the gentle 
pressure of Mr. Effingham by a squeeze like that of a vice, 
he said, in his honest off-hand manner — 

“ The happiest hour I ever knew was that in which I dis- 
charged the pilot, the first time out, as a ship-master ; the 
next great event of my life, in the way of happiness, was the 
moment I found myself on the deck of the Mqntauk, after 
we had given those greasy Arabs a hint that their room was 
better than their company ; and I really think this very 
instant must be set down as the third. I never knew, my 
dear sir, how much I truly loved you and your daughter, 
until both were out of sight.” 

“ That is so kind and gallant a speech that it ought not 
to be lost on the person most concerned. Eve, my love, our 
worthy friend has just made a declaration which will be a 
novelty to you, who have not been much in the way of lis- 
tening to speeches of this nature.” 

Mr. Effingham then acquainted his daughter with what 
Captain Truck had just said. 

“ This is certainly the first declaration of the sort I ever 
heard, and with the simplicity of an unpractised young 
woman, I here avow that the attachment is reciprocal,” 
said the smiling Eve. “ If there is an indiscretion in this 
hasty acknowledgment it must be ascribed to surprise, and 
to the suddenness with which I have learned my power, for 
your parvenues are not always perfectly regulated.” 

“ I hope Ma’mselle V. A. V. is well,” returned the cap- 
tain, cordially shaking the hand the young lady had given 
him, “ and that she enjoys herself to her liking in this out- 
landish country ?” 

“ Mademoiselle Viefville will return you her thanks in 
person, at dinner ; and I believe she does not yet regret 
la helle France unreasonably ; as I regret it myself, in many 
particulars, it would be unjust not to permit a native of the 
country some liberty in that way.” 


HOME AS POUND. 287 

“ I perceive a strange face in the room — one of the 
family, my dear young lady ?” 

Not a relative, but a very old friend. Shall I have the 
pleasure of introducing you, captain ?” 

“ I hardly dared to ask it, for I know you must have 
been overworked in this way lately, but I confess I should 
like an introduction ; I have neither introduced nor been 
introduced since I left New York, with the exception of the 
case of Captain Ducie, whom I made properly acquainted 
with Mrs. Hawker and her party, as you may suppose. 
They know each other regularly now, and you are saved the 
trouble of going through the ceremony yourself.” 

“ And how is it with you and the Bloomfields ? Did 
Mrs. Hawker name you to them properly ?” 

“ That is the most extraordinary thing of the sort I ever 
knew ! Not a word was said in the way of introduction, 
and yet I slid into an acquaintance with Mrs. Bloomfield so 
easily, that I could not tell you how it was done, if my life 
depended on it. But this very old friend of yours, my dear 
young lady ” 

“ Captain Truck, Mr. Howel ; Mr. Howcl Captain Truck,” 
said Eve, imitating the most approved manner of the 
introductory spirit of the day with admirable self-possession 
and gravity. “ I am fortunate in having it in my power to 
make two persons whom I so much esteem, acquainted.” 

“ Captain Truck is the gentleman who commands the 
Montauk ?” said Mr. Howel, glancing at Eve, as much as to 
say, “ am I right ?” 

“ The very same ; and the brave seaman to whom we 
are all indebted for the happiness of standing here at this 
moment.” 

“ You are to be envied. Captain Truck ; of all the men in 
your calling you are exactly the one I should most wish to 
supplant. I understand you actually go to England twice 
every year !” 


288 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Three times, sir, when the winds permit. I have 
even seen the old island four times, between January and 
January.” 

“ What a pleasure ! It must be the very acme of navi- 
gation to sail between America and England !” 

“ It is not unpleasant, sir, from April to November, but 
the long nights, thick weather, and heavy winds knock off 
a good deal of the satisfaction for the rest of the year.” 

“ But I speak of the country ; of old England itself; not 
of the passages.” 

“ Well, England has what I call a pretty fair coast. It 
is high, and great attention is paid to the lights ; but of 
what account is either coast or lights, if the weather is so 
thick you cannot see the end of your flying-jib-boom !” 

“Mr. Howel alludes more particularly to the country, 
inland,” said Eve ; “ to the towns, the civilization, and the 
other proofs of cultivation and refinement. To the govern- 
ment especially.” 

“ In my judgment, sir, the government is much too par- 
ticular about tobacco, and some other trifling things I could 
name. Then it restricts pennants to King’s ships, whereas, 
to my notion, my dear young lady, a New York packet is as 
worthy of wearing a pennant as any vessel that floats. I 
mean, of course, ships of the regular European lines, and 
not the Southern traders.” 

“ But these are merely spots on the sun, my good sir,” 
returned Mr. Howel. “ Putting a few such trifles out of the 
question, I think you will allow that England is the most 
delightful country in the world ?” 

“ To be frank with you, Mr. Howel, there is a good deal 
of hang-dog weather along in October, November, and 
December. I have known March anything but agreeable, 
and then April is just like a young girl with one of your 
melancholy novels, now smiling and now blubbering.” 

“ But the morals of the country, my dear sir ; the moral 


HOME AS FOUND. 


289 


features of England must be a source of never-dying delight 
to a true philanthropist,” resumed Mr. Howel, as Eve, who 
perceived that the discourse was likely to be long, went to 
join the ladies. “ An Englishman has most reason to be 
proud of the moral excellences of his country !” 

“ Why, to be frank with you, Mr. Howel, there are some 
of the moral features of London that are anything but very 
beautiful. If you could pass twenty-four hours in the neigh- 
borhood of St. Catharine’s, you would see sights that would 
throw Templeton into fits. The English are a handsome 
people, I allow ; but their morality is none of the best fea- 
tured.” 

“ Let us be seated, sir ; I am afraid we are not exactly 
agreed on our terms, and, in order that we may continue 
this subject, I beg you will let me take a seat next you at 
table.” 

To this Captain Truck very cheerfully assented, and then 
the two took chairs, continuing the discourse very much in 
the blind and ambiguous manner in which it had been com- 
menced. The one party insisting on seeing everything 
through the medium of an imagination that had got to be 
diseased on such subjects, or with a species of monomania ; 
while the other seemed obstinately determined to consider 
the entire country as things had been presented to his 
limited and peculiar experience, in the vicinity of the 
docks. 

“We have had a v^ery unexpected and a very agreeable 
attendant in Captain Truck,” said Mrs. Hawker, when Eve 
had placed herself by her side, and respectfully taken one 
of her hands. “ I really think if I were to suffer shipwreck, 
or to run the hazard of captivity, I should choose to have 
both occur in his good company.” 

“ Mrs. Hawker makes so many conquests,” observed Mrs. 
Bloomfield, “ that we are to think nothing of her success 
with this merman ; but what will you say, Miss Effingham, 
13 


290 


HOME AS FOUND. 


when you learn that I am also in favor, in the same high 
quarter. I shall think the better of masters, and boat- 
swains, and Trinculos and Stephanos, as long Jis I live, for 
this specimen of their craft.” 

“ Not Trinculos and Stephanos, dear Mrs. Bloomfield ; for, 
d Vexception pres de Saturday nights, and sweethearts and 
wives, a more exemplary person in the way of libations, 
does not exist than our excellent Captain Truck. He is 
much too religious and moral for so vulgar an excess as 
drinking.” 

“ Religious !” exclaimed Mrs. Bloomfield, in surprise. 
“ This is a merit to which I did not know he possessed the 
smallest claims. One might imagine a little superstition, 
and some short-lived repentances in gales of wind ; but 
scarcely anything as much like a trade wind, as religion !” 

“ Then you do not know him ; for a more sincerely devout 
man, though I acknowledge it is after a fashion that is per- 
haps peculiar to the ocean, is not often met with. At any 
rate, you found him attentive to our sex ?” 

“ The pink of politeness ; and, not to embellish, there is a 
manly deference about him, that is singularly agreeable to 
our frail vanity. This comes of his packet-training, I sup- 
pose, and we may thank you for some portion of his merit. 
His tongue never tires in your praises, and did I not feel 
persuaded that your mind is made up never to be the wife 
of any republican American, I should fear this visit exceed- 
ingly. Notwithstanding the remark I made concerning my 
being in favor, the affair lies between Mrs. Hawker and 
yourself. I know it is not your habit to trifle even on that 
very popular subject with young ladies, matrimony; but 
this case forms so complete an exception to the vulgar pas- 
sion, that I trust you will overlook the indiscretion. Our 
golden captain, for copper he is not, protests that Mrs. 
Hawker is the most delightful old lady he ever knew, 
and that Miss Eve Effingham is the most delightful young 


HOME AS FOUND. 


291 


lady he ever knew. Here, then, each may see the gTonnd 
she occupies, and play her cards accordingly. I hope to be 
forgiven for touching on a subject so delicate.” 

“ In the first place,” said Eve, smiling, “ I should wish to 
hear Mrs. Hawker’s reply.” 

“I have no more to say, than to express my perfect 
gratitude,” answered that lady, “ to announce a determina- 
tion not to change my condition, on account of extreme 
youth, and a disposition to abandon the field to my younger, 
if not fairer rival.” 

“Well, then,” resumed Eve, anxious to change the sub- 
ject, for she saw that Paul was approaching their group, 
“ I believe it will be wisest in me to suspend a decision, 
circumstances leaving so much at my disposal. Time must 
show what that decision will be.” 

“ Nay,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, who saw no feeling involved 
in the trifling, “this is unjustifiable coquetry, and I feel 
bound to ascertain how the land lies. You will remember 
I am the Captain’s confidante, and you know the fearful 
responsibility of a friend in an affair of this sort ; that of a 
friend in the duello being insignificant in comparison. That 
I may have a testimony at need, Mr. Powis shall be made 
acquainted with the leading facts. Captain Truck is a 
devout admirer of this young lady, sir, and I am endeavor- 
ing to discover whether he ought to hang himself on her 
father’s lawn this evening, as soon as the moon rises, or live 
another week. In order to do this, I shall pursue the cate- 
gorical and inquisitorial method, and so defend yourself. 
Miss Eflingham. Do you object to the country of your 
admirer ?” 

Eve, though inwardly vexed at the turn this pleasantry 
had taken, maintained a perfectly composed manner ; for 
she knew that Mrs. Bloomfield had too much feminine pro- 
priety to say anything improper, or anything that might 
seriously embarrass her. 


292 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ It would, indeed, be extraordinary, should I object to a 
country which is not only my own,, but which has so long 
been that of my ancestors,” she answered steadily. “ On 
this score, my knight has nothing to fear.” 

“ I rejoice to hear this,” returned Mrs. Bloomfield, glanc- 
ing her eyes, unconsciously to herself, however, towards Sir 
George Templemore, “ and, Mr. Powis, you, who I believe 
are a European, will learn humility in the avowal. Do you 
object to your swain that he is a seaman ?” 

Eve blushed, notwithstanding a strong effort to appear 
composed, and, for the first time since their acquaintance, 
she felt provoked with ]\Irs. Bloomfield. She hesitated be- 
fore she answered in the negative, and this too in a way to 
give more meaning to her reply, although nothing could be 
further from her intentions. 

“ The happy man may then be an American and a sea- 
man! Here is great encouragement! Do you object to sixty ?” 

“ In any other man I should certainly consider it a ble- 
mish, as my own dear father is but fifty. 

Mrs. Bloomfield was struck with the tremor in the voice, 
and with the air of embarrassment, in one who usually was 
so easy and collected ; and with feminine sensitiveness she 
adroitly abandoned the subject, though she often recurred 
to this stifled emotion in the course of the day, and from 
that moment she became a silent observer of Eve’s deport- 
ment with all her father’s guests. 

“ This is hope enough for one day,” she said, rising ; 
“ the profession and the flag must counterbalance the years 
as best they may, and the Truck lives another revolution of 
the sun ! Mrs. Hawker, we shall be late at dinner, I see 
by that clock, unless we retire soon.” 

Both the ladies now went to their rooms ; Eve, who was 
already dressed for dinner, remaining in the drawing-room. 
Paul still stood before her, and, like herself, he seemed 
embarrassed. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


293 


“ There are men who would be delighted to hear even 
the little that has fallen from your lips in this trifling,” he 
said, as soon as Mrs. Bloomfleld was out of hearing. “ To 
be an American and a seaman, then, are not serious defects 
in your eyes ?” 

“ Am I to be made responsible for Mrs. Bloomfleld’s ca- 
prices and pleasantries ?” 

“ By no means ; but I do think you hold yourself respon- 
sible for Miss EflBngham’s truth and sincerity. I can con- 
ceive of your silence, when questioned too far, but scarcely 
of any direct declaration, that shall not possess both these 
high qualities.” 

Eve looked up gratefully, for she saw that profound re- 
spect for her character dictated the remark : but rising, she 
observed — 

“ This is making a little badinage about our honest, lion- 
hearted old captain, a very serious affair. And now, to 
show you that I am conscious of, and thankful for, your 
own compliment, I shall place you on the footing of a friend 
to both the parties, and request you will take Captain Truck 
into your especial care, while he remains here. My father 
and cousin are both sincerely his friends, but their habits 
are not so much those of their guests, as yours will probably 
be ; and to you, then, I commit him, with a request that he 
may miss his ship and the ocean as little as possible.” 

“ I would I knew how to take this charge. Miss Effing- 
ham ! To be a seaman is not always a recommendation 
with the polished, intelligent, and refined.” 

“ But when one is polished, intelligent, and refined, to be 
a seaman is to add one other particular and useful branch 
of knowledge to those which are more familiar. I feel cer- 
tain Captain Truck will be in good hands, and now I will 
go and do my devoirs to my own especial charges, the 
ladies.” 

Eve bowed as she passed the young man, and she left the 


294 


HOME AS FOUND. 


room with as much haste as at all became her. Paul stood 
motionless quite a minute after she had vanished, nor did 
he awaken from his reverie, until aroused by an appeal 
from Captain Truck, to sustain him, in some of his matter- 
of-fact opinions concerning England, against the visionary 
and bookish notions of Mr. Howel. 

“ Who is this Mr. Powis ?” asked Mrs. Bloomfield of Eve, 
when the latter appeared in her dressing-room, with an un- 
usual impatience of manner 

“ You know, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, that he was our 
fellow-passenger in the Montauk, and that he was of infinite 
service to us in escaping from the Arabs.” 

“ All this I know, certainly ; but he is a European, is he 
not ?” 

Eve scarcely ever felt more embarrassed than in answer- 
ing this simple question. 

“ I believe not ; at least, I think not ; we thought so 
when we met him in Europe, and even until quite lately ; 
but he has avowed himself a countryman of our own, since 
his arrival at Templeton.” 

“ Has he been here long ?” 

“We found him in the village on reaching home. He 
was from Canada, and has been in waiting for his cousin, 
Captain Ducie, who came with you.” 

“ His cousin ! He has English cousins, then ! Mr. Ducie 
kept this to himself, with true English reserve. Captain 
Truck whispered something of the latter’s having taken out 
one of his passengers, the Mr. Powis, the hero of the rocks, 
but I did not know of his having found his way back to 
our — to his country. Is he as agreeable as Sir George 
Templemore ?” 

“ Nay, Mrs. Bloomfield, I must leave you to judge of that 
for yourself. I think them both agreeable men ; but there 
is so much caprice in a woman’s tastes, that I decline think- 
ing for others.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


295 


“ He is a seaman, I believe,” observed Mrs. Bloomfield, 
with an abstracted manner ; “ he must have been, to have 
manoeuvred and managed as I have been told he did. 
Powis — Powis — that is not one of our names, either — I 
should think he must be from the south.” 

Here Eve’s habitual truth and dignity of mind did her 
good service, and prevented any further betrayal of embar- 
rassment. 

“We do not know his family,” she steadily answered. 
“That he is a gentleman, we see; but of his origin and 
connexions he never speaks.” 

“ His profession would have given him the notions of a 
gentleman, for he was in the navy I have heard, although I 
had thought it the British navy. I do not know of any 
Powises in Philadelphia, or Baltimore, or Richmond, or 
Charleston ; he must surely be from the interior.” 

Eve could scarcely condemn her fi'iend for a curiosity 
that had not a little tormented herself, though she would 
gladly change the discourse. 

“ Mr. Powis would be much gratified did he know what 
a subject of interest he has suddenly become with Mrs. 
Bloomfield,” she said, smiling. 

“ I confess it all ; to be very sincere, I think him the 
most distinguished young man, in air, appearance, and ex- 
pression of countenance, I ever saw. When this is coupled 
with what I have heard of his gallantry and coolness, my 
dear, I should not be woman to feel no interest in him. I 
would give the world to know of what State he is a native — 
if native, in truth, he be.” 

“ For that we have his own word. He was born in this 
country, and was educated in our own marine.” 

“ And yet from the little that fell from him, in our first 
short conversation, he struck me as being educated above 
his profession.” 

“ Mr. Powis has seen much as a traveller ; when we met 


296 


HOME AS FOUND. 


him in Europe, it was in a circle particularly qualified to 
improve both his mind and his manners.” 

“ Europe ! Your acquaintance did not then com- 
mence, like that with Sir George Templemore, in the 
packet ?” 

“ Our acquaintance with neither commenced in the pack- 
et. My father had often seen both these gentlemen, during 
our residences in different parts of Europe.” 

“ And your father’s daughter ?” 

“ My father’s daughter, too,” said Eve, laughing. “ With 
Mr. Powis, in particular, we were acquainted under circum- 
stances that left a vivid recollection of his manliness and 
professional skill. He was of almost as much service to us 
on one of the Swiss lakes, as he has subsequently been on 
the ocean.” 

All this was news to Mrs. Bloomfield, and she looked as 
if she thought the intelligence interesting. At this moment 
the dinner-bell rang, and all the ladies descended to the 
drawing-room. The gentlemen were already assembled, 
and as Mr. Effingham led Mrs. Hawker to the table, Mrs. 
Bloomfield gaily took Eve by the arm, protesting that she 
felt herself privileged, the first day, to take a seat near the 
young mistress of the Wigwam. 

“ Mr. Powis and Sir George Templemore will not quarrel 
about the honor,” she said, in a low voice, as they proceeded 
towards the table. 

“ Indeed you are in error, Mrs. Bloomfield ; Sir George 
Templemore is much better pleased with being at liberty 
to sit next my cousin Grace.” 

“ Can this be so !” returned the other, looking intently at 
her young friend. 

“ Indeed it is so, and I am very glad to be able to affirm 
it. How far Miss Van Cortlandt is pleased that it is so, 
time must show ; but the baronet betrays every day, and all 
day, how much he is pleased with her.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


297 


“ He is then a man of less taste, and judgment, and in- 
telligence, than I had thought him.” 

“Nay, dearest Mrs. Bloomfield, this is not necessarily 
true ; or, if true, need it he so openly said ? ” 

“ JSe non e vero, e ben trovatoP 


13 ^ 


298 


HOME AS FOUND, 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

“ Thine for a space are they — 

Yet Shalt thou yield thy treasures up at last; 

Thy gates shall yet give way, 

Thy bolts shall fall, inexorable Past.” 

Beyant. 

Captain Ducie had retired for the night, and was sitting 
reading, when a low tap at the door roused him from a 
brown study. He gave the necessary permission, and the 
door opened. 

“ I hope, Ducie, you have not forgotten the secretaire I 
left among your effects,” said Paul, entering the room, “ and 
concerning which I wrote to you when you were still at 
Quebec.” 

Captain Ducie pointed to the case which was standing 
among his other luggage, on the floor of the room. 

“ Thank you for this care,” said Paul, taking the secretaire 
under his arm, and retiring towards the door ; it contains 
papers of much importance to myself, and some that I have 
reason to think are of importance to others.” 

“ Stop, Powis — a word before you quit me. Is Temple- 
more de trop ? ” 

“ Not at all ; I have a sincere regard for Templemore, and 
should be sorry to see him leave us.” 

“ And yet I think it singular a man of his habits should 
be rusticating among these hills, when I know that he is 
expected to look at the Canadas, with a view to report their 
actual condition at home.” 

“ Is Sir George really intrusted with a commission of that 
sort ? ” inquired Paul, with interest. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


299 


“ Not with any positive commission, perhaps, for none was 
necessary. Templemore is a rich fellow, and has no need 
of appointments ; but it is hoped and understood that he 
will look at the provinces, and report their condition to the 
government. I dare say -he will not be impeached for his 
negligence, though it may occasion surprise.” 

“ Good night, Ducie ; Templemore prefers a wigwam to 
your walled Quebec, and natives to colonists ; that is all.” 

In a minute, Paul was at the door of John Effingham’s 
room, where he again tapped, and was again told to enter. 

“Ducie has not forgotten my request, and this is the 
secretaire that contains poor Mr. Monday’s papers,” he re- 
marked, as he laid his load on a toilet-table, speaking in a 
way to show that his visit was expected. “We have, in- 
deed, neglected this duty too long, and it is to be hoped no 
injustice, or wrong to any, will be the consequence.” 

“ Is that the package ? ” demanded John Effingham, ex- 
tending a hand to receive a bundle of papers that Paul had 
taken from the secretaire. “We will break the seals this 
moment, and ascertain what ought to be done before we 
sleep.” 

“These are papers of my own, and very precious are 
they,” returned the young man, regarding them a moment 
with interest, before he laid them on the toilet. “ Here are 
the papers of Mr. Monday.” 

John Effingham received the package from his young 
ft'iend, placed the lights conveniently on the table, put on 
his spectacles, and invited Paul to be seated. The gentle- 
men were placed opposite each other, the duty of breaking 
the seals, and first casting an eye at the contents of the 
different documents, devolving, as a matter of course, on the 
senior of the two, who, in truth, had alone been intrusted 
with it. 

“ Here is something signed by poor Monday himself, in 
the way of a general certificate,” observed John Effingham, 


300 


HOME AS FOUND. 


who first read the paper, and then handed it to Paul. It 
was, in form, an unsealed letter ; and it was addressed “ to 
all whom it may concern.” The certificate itself was in the 
following words : 

“ I, John Monday, do declare and certify, that all the ac- 
companying letters and documents are genuine and au- 
thentic. Jane Dowse, to whom and from whom, are so 
many letters, was my late mother, she having intermarried 
with Peter Dowse, the man so often named, and who led 
her into acts for which I know she has since been deeply 
repentant. In committing these papers to me, my poor 
mother left me the sole judge of the course I was to take, 
and I have put them in this form, in order that they may 
yet do good, should I be called suddenly away. All depends 
on discovering who the person called Bright actually is, for 
he was never known to my mother by any other name. She 
knows him to have been an Englishman, however, and thinks 
he was, or has been, an upper servant in a gentleman’s 
family. John Monday.” 

This paper was dated several years back, a sign that the 
disposition to do right had existed some time in Mr. Mon- 
day ; and all the letters and other papers had been carefully 
preserved. The latter also appeared to be regularly num- 
bered, a precaution that much aided the investigations of the 
two gentlemen. The original letters spoke for themselves, 
and the copies had been made in a clear, strong, mercantile 
hand^ and with the method of one accustomed to business. 
In short, so far as the contents of the different papers would 
allow, nothing was wanting to render the whole distinct and 
intelligible. 

John Effingham read the paper No. 1, with deliberation, 
though not aloud ; and when he had done, he handed it to 
his young friend, coolly remarking — 

“ That is the production of a deliberate villain.” 

Paul glanced his eye over the document, which was an 


HOME AS POUND. 


301 


original letter signed “David Bright,” and addressed to 
“Mrs. Jane Dowse.” It was written with exceeding art, 
made many professions of friendship, spoke of the writer’s 
knowledge of the woman’s friends in England, and of her 
first husband in particular, and freely professed the writer’s 
desire to serve her, while it also contained several ambigu- 
ous allusions to certain means of doing so, which should be 
revealed whenever the person to whom the letter was ad- 
dressed should discover a willingness to embark in the 
undertaking. This letter was dated Philadelphia, was ad- 
dressed to one in New York, and it was old. 

“ This is, indeed, a rare specimen of villany,” said Paul, 
as he laid down the paper, “ and has been written in some 
such spirit as that employed by the Devil when he tempted 
our common mother. I think I never read a better speci- 
men of low, wily cunning.” 

“ And judging by all that we already know, it would seem 
to have succeeded. In this letter you will find the gentle- 
man a little more explicit ; and but a little ; though he is 
evidently encouraged by the interest and curiosity betrayed 
by the woman in this copy of the answer to his first 
epistle.” 

Paul read the letter just named, and then he laid it down 
to wait for the next, which was still in the hands of his 
companion. 

“ This is likely to prove a history of unlawful love, and 
of its miserable consequences,” said John Effingham in his 
cool manner, as he handed the answers to letter No. 1 and 
letter No. 2 to Paul. “ The world is full of such unfortunate 
adventures, and I should think the parties English, by a hint 
or two you will find in this very honest and conscientious 
communication. Strongly artificial, social and political dis- 
tinctions, render expedients of this nature more fi*equent, 
perhaps, in Great Britain, than in any other country. Youth 
is the season of the passions, and many a man, in the 


302 


HOME AS FOUND. 


thoughtlessness of that period, lays the foundation of bitter 
regret in after life.” 

As John Effingham raised his eyes, in the act of extending 
his hand towards his companion, he perceived that the fresh 
ruddy hue of his embrowned cheek deepened, until the 
color diffused itself over the whole of his fine brow. At 
first an unpleasant suspicion flashed on John Effingham, 
and he admitted it with regret, for Eve and her future hap- 
piness had got to be closely associated in his mind, with 
the character and conduct of the young man; but when 
Paul took the papers steadily, and by an effort seemed to 
subdue all unpleasant feelings, the calm dignity with which 
he read them, completely effaced the disagreeable distrust. 
It was then John Effingham remembered that he had once 
believed Paul himself might be the fruits of the heartless 
indiscretion he condemned. Commiseration and sympathy 
instantly took the place of the first impression, and he was 
so much absorbed with these feelings that he had not taken 
up the letter which was to follow, when Paul laid down the 
paper he had last been required to read. 

“ This does, indeed, sir, seem to foretell one of those pain- 
ful histories of unbridled passion, with the still more pain- 
ful consequences,” said the young man, with the steadiness 
of one who was unconscious of having a personal connexion 
with any events of a nature so unpleasant. “Let us ex- 
amine further.” 

John Effingham felt emboldened by these encouraging 
signs of unconcern, and he read the succeeding letters aloud, 
so that they learned their contents simultaneously. The 
next six or eight communications betrayed nothing dis- 
tinctly, beyond the fact that the child which formed the 
subject of the whole correspondence, was to be received by 
Peter Dowse and his wife, and to be retained as their own 
offspring, for the consideration of a considerable sum, with 
an additional engagement to pay an annuity. It appeared 


HOME AS FOUND. 


303 


by these letters also, that the child, which was hypocritically 
alluded to under the name of the “ pet,” had been actually 
transferred to the keeping of Jane Dowse, and that several 
years passed after this arrangement before the correspondence 
terminated. Most of the later letters referred to the pay- 
ment of the annuity, although they contained cold inquiries 
after the “ pet,” and answers so vague and general, as suffi- 
ciently to prove that the term was singularly misapplied. 
In the whole, there were some thirty or forty letters, each 
of which had been punctually answered, and their dates 
covered a space of near twelve years. The perusal of all 
these papers consumed more than an hour, and when John 
Effingham laid his spectacles on the table, the village clock 
had struck the hour of midnight. 

“ As yet,” he observed, “ we have learned little more than 
the fact, that a child was made to take a false character, 
without possessing any other clue to the circumstances than 
is given in the names of the parties, all of whom are 
evidently obscure, and one of the most material of whom, 
we are plainly told, must have borne a fictitious name. 
Even poor Monday, in possession of so much collateral testi- 
mony that we want, could not have known what was the 
precise injustice done, if any, or certainly, with the in- 
tentions he manifests, he would not have left that important 
particular in the dark.” 

“ This is likely to prove a complicated affair,” returned 
Paul, “ and it is not very clear that we can be of any imme- 
diate service. As you are probably fatigued, we may without 
impropriety defer the further examination to another time.” 

To this John Effingham assented, and Paul, during the 
short conversation that followed, brought the secretaire from 
the toilet to the table, along with the bundle of important 
papers that belonged to himself, to which he had alluded, 
and busied himself in replacing the whole in the drawer 
from which they had been taken. 

13 * 


304 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ All the formalities about the seals, that we observed 
when poor Monday gave us the packet, would now seem to 
be unnecessary,” he remarked, while thus occupied, “ and it 
will probably be sufficient if I leave the secretaire in your 
room, and keep the keys myself.” 

“ One never knows,” returned John Effingham, with the 
greater caution of experience and age. “We have not read 
all the papers, and there are wax and lights before you ; each 
has his watch and seal, and it will be the work of a 
minute only, to replace everything as we left the package 
originally. When this is done, you may leave the secretaire, 
or remove it at your own pleasure.” 

“ I will leave it ; for though it contains so much that I 
prize, and which is really of great importance to myself, it 
contains nothing for which I shall have immediate occasion.” 

“ In that case it were better that I place the package in 
which we have a common interest in an armoire^ or in my 
secretaire, and that you keep your precious effects more im- 
mediately under your own eye.” 

“ It is immaterial, unless the case will inconvenience you, 
for I do not know that I am not happier when it is out of 
my sight, so long as I feel certain of its security, than when 
it is constantly before my eyes.” 

Paul said this with a forced smile, and there was a sadness 
in his countenance that excited the sympathy of his com- 
panion. The latter, however, merely bowed his assent, and 
the papers were replaced, and the secretaire was locked and 
deposited in an armoire in silence. Paul was then about to 
wish the other good night, when John Effingham seized his 
hand, and by a gentle effort induced him to resume his seat. 
An embarrassing, but short pause succeeded, when the latter 
spoke. 

“We have suffered enough in company, and have seen 
each other in situations of sufficient trial, to be friends,” he 
said. “ I should feel mortified did I believe you could think 


HOME AS FOUND. 


305 


me influenced by an improper curiosity, in wishing to share 
more of your confidence than perhaps you are willing to 
bestow ; I trust you will attribute to its right motive the 
liberty I am now taking. Age makes some difference be- 
tween us, and the sincere and strong interest I feel in your 
welfare, ought to give me a small claim not to be treated as 
a total stranger. So jealous and watchful has this interest 
been, I might with truth call it affection, that I have dis- 
covered you are not situated exactly as other men in your 
CQudition of life are situated, and I feel persuaded that the 
sympathy, perhaps the advice, of one so many years older 
than yourself might be useful. You have already said so 
much to me on the subject of your personal situation, that 
I almost feel a right to ask for more.” 

John Effingham uttered this in his mildest and most win- 
ning manner ; and few men could carry with them, on such 
an occasion, more of persuasion in their voices and looks. 
Paul’s features worked, and it was evident to his companion 
that he was moved, while, at the same time, he was not dis- 
pleased. 

“ I am grateful, deeply grateful, sir, for this interest in my 
happiness,” Paul answered, “ and if I knew the particular 
points on which you feel any curiosity, there is nothing that 
I can desire to conceal. Have the further kindness to 
question me, Mr. Effingham, that I need not touch on things 
you do not care to hear.” 

“ All that really concerns your welfare would have inte- 
rest with me. You have been the agent of rescuing not only 
myself, but those whom I most love, from a fate worse than 
death ; and, a childless bachelor myself, I have more than 
once thought of attempting to supply the places of those 
natural friends that I fear you have lost. Your parents 
11 


“ Are both dead. I never knew either,” said Paul, who 
spoke huskily, “ and will most cheerfully accept your gene- 


306 


HOME AS FOUND. 


rous offer, if you will allow me to attach to it a single condi- 
tion.” 

“ Beggars must not be choosers,” returned John Effing- 
ham, “ and if you will allow me to feel this interest in you, 
and occasionally to share in the confidence of a father, I 
shall not insist on any unreasonable terms. What is your 
condition ?” 

“ That the word money may be struck out of our vocabu- 
lary, and that you leave your will unaltered. Were the 
world to be examined, you could not find a worthier or a 
lovelier heiress than the one you have already selected, and 
whom Providence itself has given you. 'Compared with 
yourself, I am not rich ; but I have a gentleman’s income, 
and as I shall probably never marry, it will suffice for all 
my wants.” 

John Effingham was more pleased than he cared to 
express with this irankness, and with the secret sympathy 
that had existed between them ; but he smiled at the 
injunction ; for, with Eve’s knowledge, and her father’s 
entire approbation, he had actually made a codicil to his 
will, in which their young protector was left one half of his 
large fortune. 

“The will may remain untouched, if you desire it,” he 
answered, evasively, “ and that condition is disposed of. I 
am glad to learn so directly from yourself, what your man- 
ner of living and the reports of others had prepared me to 
hear, that you are independent. This fact alone will place 
us solely on our mutual esteem, and render the friendship 
that I hope is now brought within a covenant, if not now 
first established, more equal and frank. You have seen 
much of the world, Powis, for your years and profession ?” 

“ It is usual to think that men of my profession see much 
of the world, as a consequence of their pursuits ; though I 
agree with you, sir, that this is seeing the world only in a 
very limited circle. It is now several years since circum- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


307 


stances, I might almost say the imperative order of one 
whom I was hound to obey, induced me to resign, and since 
that time I have done little else but travel. Owing to cer- 
tain adventitious causes, I have enjoyed an access to Euro- 
pean society that few of our countrymen possess, and I hope 
the advantage has not been entirely thrown away. It was 
as a traveller on the continent of Europe, that I had the 
pleasure of first meeting with Mr. and Miss Effingham. I 
was much abroad, even as a child, and owe some little skill 
in foreign languages to that circumstance.” 

“ So my cousin has informed me. You have set the 
question of country at rest, by declaring that you are an 
American, and yet I find you have English relatives. Cap- 
tain Ducie, I believe, is a kinsman ?” 

“ He is. We are sisters’ children, though our friendship 
has not always been such as the connexion would infer. 
When Ducie and myself met at sea, there was an awkward- 
ness, if not a coolness, in the interview, that, coupled with 
my sudden return to England, I fear did not make the 
most favorable impression on those who witnessed what 
passed.” 

“ We had confidence in your principles,” said John Effing- 
ham, with a frank simplicity, “ and though the first sur- 
mises were not pleasant, perhaps, a little refiection told us 
that there was no just ground for suspicion.” 

“ Ducie is a fine, manly fellow, and has a seaman’s gene- 
rosity and sincerity. I had last parted from him on the field, 
where we met as enemies, and the circumstance rendered 
the unexpected meeting awkward. Our wounds no longer 
smarted, it is true ; but, perhaps, we both felt shame and 
sorrow that they had ever been inflicted.” 

“It should be a very serious quarrel that could arm 
sisters’ children against each other,” said John Effingham, 
gravely. 

“ I admit as much. But, at that time. Captain Ducie was 


308 


HOME AS FOUND. 


not disposed to admit the consanguinity, and the offence 
grew out of an intemperate resentment of some imputations 
on my birth ; between two military men, the issue could 
scarcely be avoided. Ducie challenged, and I was not then 
in the humor to balk him. A couple of flesh-wounds hap- 
pily terminated the affair. But an interval of three years 
had enabled my enemy to discover that he had not done me 
justice ; that I had been causelessly provoked to the quar- 
rel, and that we ought to be firm friends. The generous 
desire to make suitable expiation, urged him to seize the 
first occasion of coming to America that offered ; and when 
ordered to chase the Montauk, by a telegraphic communi- 
cation from London, he was hourly expecting to sail for our 
seas, where he wished to come, expressly that we might 
meet. You will judge, therefore, how happy he was to find 
me unexpectedly in the vessel that contained his principal 
object of pursuit, thus killing, as it might be, two birds with 
one stone.” 

“ And did he cany you away with him with any such 
murderous intention ?” demanded John Effingham, smiling. 

“ By no means. Nothing could be more amicable than 
Ducie and myself got to be, when we had been a few hours 
together in his cabin. As often happens, when there have 
been violent antipathies and unreasonable prejudices, a 
nearer view of each other’s character and motives removed 
every obstacle ; and long before we reached England, two 
warmer friends could not be found, or a more frank inter- 
course between relatives could not be desired. You are 
aware, sir, that our English cousins do not often view their 
cis-atlantic relatives with the most lenient eyes.” 

“This is but too true,” said John Effingham proudly, 
though his lip quivered as he spoke, “ and it is, in a great 
measure, the fault of that miserable mental bondage which 
has left this country, after sixty years of nominal independ- 
ence, so much at the mercy of a hostile opinion. It is 


HOME AS FOUND. 


309 


necessary that we respect ourselves in order that others 
respect us.” 

“ I agree with you, sir, entirely. In my case, however, 
previous injustice disposed my relatives to receive me bet- 
ter, perhaps, than might otherwise have been the case. I 
had little to ask in the way of fortune, and feeling no dispo- 
sition to raise a question that might disturb the peerage of 
the Ducies, I became a favorite.” 

“ A peerage ! Both your parents, then, were English ?” 

“ Neither, I believe ; but the connexion between the two 
countries was so close, that it can occasion no surprise a 
right of this nature should have passed into the colonies. 
My mother’s mother became the heiress of one of those an- 
cient baronies that pass to the heirs-general, and, in conse- 
quence of the deaths of two brothers, these rights, which, 
however, were never actually possessed by any of the pre- 
vious generation, centred in my mother and my aunt. The 
former being dead, as was contended, without issue ” 

“ You forget yourself!” 

“ Lawful issue,” added Paiil, reddening to the temples, “ I 
should have added ; Mrs. Ducie, who was married to the 
younger son of an English nobleman, claimed and obtained 
the rank. . My pretension would have left the peerage in 
abeyance, and I probably owe some little of the opposition 
I found to that circumstance. But, after Ducie’s generous 
conduct, I could not hesitate about joining in the applica- 
tion to the crown, that, by its decision, the abeyance might 
be determined in favor of the person who was in possession ; 
and Lady Dunluce is now quietly confirmed in her claim.” 

“ There are many young men in this country who would 
cling to the hopes of a British peerage with greater te- 
nacity !” 

“ It is probable there axe ; but my self-denial is not of a 
very high order, for it could scarcely be expected the Eng- 
lish ministers would consent to give the rank to a foreigner 


310 


HOME AS FOUND. 


who did not hesitate about avowing his principles and na- 
tional feelings. I shall not say I did not covet this peerage, 
for it would be supererogatory ; but I am born an Ameri- 
can, and will die an American ; and an American who 
swaggers about such a claim is like the daw among the 
peacocks. The less that is said about it the better.” 

“ You are fortunate to have escaped the journals, which 
most probably would have hegraced you, by elevating you 
at once to the rank of a duke.” 

“ Instead of which I had no other station than that of a 
dog in the manger. If it makes my aunt happy to be 
called Lady Dunluce, I am sure she is welcome to the pri- 
vilege ; and when Ducie succeeds her, as will one day be 
the case, an excellent fellow will be a peer of England. 
Voild tout ! You are the only countryman, sir, to whom I 
have ever spoken of the circumstance, and with you, I trust, 
it will remain a secret.” 

“ What ! am I precluded from mentioning the facts in 
my own family ? I am not the only sincere, the only warm 
friend, you have in this house, Powis.” 

“ In that respect, I leave you to act your pleasure, my 
dear sir. If Mr. Effingham feels sufficient interest in my 
fortunes, to wish to hear what I have told you, let there be 
no silly mysteries, — or — or Mademoiselle Viefville ” 

“ Or Nanny Sidley, or Annette,” interrupted John 
Effingham, with a kind smile. “ Well, trust to me for 
that ; but, before we separate for the night, I wish to 
ascertain beyond question one other fact, although the 
circumstances you have stated scarce leave a doubt of the 
reply.” 

“ I understand you, sir, and did not intend to leave you 
in any uncertainty on that important particular. If there 
can be a feeling more painful than all others, with a man 
of any pride, it is to distrust the purity of his mother. Mine 
was beyond reproach, thank God, and so it was most clearly 


HOME AS FOUND. 


311 


established, or I could certainly have had no legal claim to 
the peerage.” 

“ Or your fortune—” added John Effingham, drawing a 
long breath, like one suddenly relieved from an unpleasant 
suspicion. 

“ My fortune comes from neither parent, but from one of 
those generous dispositions, or caprices, if you will, that 
sometimes induce men to adopt those who are alien to 
their blood. My guardian adopted me, took me abroad 
with him, and placed me, quite young, in the navy, and 
finally left mo all he possessed. As he was a 
bachelor, with no near relative, and had been the artisan of 
his own fortune, I could have no hesitation about accepting 
the gift he so liberally bequeathed. It was coupled with 
the condition that I should retire from the service, travel 
for five years, return home, and marry. There is no silly 
forfeiture exacted in either case, but such is the general 
course solemnly advised by a man who showed himself my 
true friend for so many years.” 

“ I envy him the opportunity he enjoyed of serving you. 
I hope he would have approved of your national pride, for 
I believe we must put that at the bottom of your disinte- 
restedness in the affair of the peerage.” 

“ He would, indeed ; although he never knew anything of 
the claim which arose out of the death of the two lords 
who preceded my aunt, and who were the brothers of my 
grandmother. My guardian was in all respects a man, and 
in nothing more than in a manly national pride. While 
abroad a decoration was offered him, and he declined it 
with the character and dignity of one who felt that distinc- 
tions which his country repudiated, every gentleman be- 
longing to that country ought to reject ; and yet he did it 
with a respectful gratitude for the compliment that was due 
to the government from which the offer came.” 

“I almost envy that man,” said John Effingham, with 


312 


HOME AS FOUND. 


warmtli. “ To have appreciated you, Powis, was a mark 
of a high judgment ; hut it seems he properly appreciated 
himself, his country, and human nature.” 

“And yet he was little appreciated in his turn. That- 
man passed years in one of our largest towns, of no more 
apparent account among its population than any one of its 
commoner spirits, and of not half as much as one of its 
hustling brokers or jobbers.” 

“ In that there is nothing surprising. The class of the 
chosen few is too small everywhere, to be very numerous at 
any given point, in a scattered population like that of Ame- 
rica. The broker will as naturally appreciate the broker, 
as the dog appreciates the dog, or the wolf the wolf. Least 
of all is the manliness you have named likely to be valued 
among a people who have been put into men’s clothes be- 
fore they are out of leading-strings. I am older than you, 
my dear Paul,” it was the first time John EflSngham ever 
used so familiar an appellation, and the young man thought 
it sounded kindly ; “ I am older than you, my dear Paul, 
and will venture to tell you an important fact that may 
hereafter lessen some of your own mortifications. In most 
nations there is a high standard to which man at least 
affects to look ; and acts are extolled and seemingly appre- 
ciated for their naked merits. Little of this exists in Ame- 
rica, where no man is much praised for himself, but for the 
purposes of party, or to feed national vanity. In the coun- 
try in which, of all others, political opinion ought to be the 
freest, it is the most persecuted, and the community-charac- 
ter of the nation induces every man to think he has a right 
of property in all its fame. England exhibits a great deal 
of this weakness and injustice, which, it is to be feared, is a 
vicious fruit of liberty ; for it is certain that the sacred na- 
ture of opinion is most appreciated in those countries in 
which it has the least efficiency. We are constantly de- 
riding those governments which fetter opinion, and yet I 


HOME AS FOUND. 


313 


know of no nation in which the expression of opinion is so 
certain to attract persecution and hostility as our own, 
though it may be, and is, in one sense, free.” 

“ This arises from its potency. Men quarrel about opi- 
nion here, because opinion rules. It is hut one mode of 
struggling for power. But to return to my guardian ; he 
was a man to think and act for himself, and as far from the 
magazine and newspaper existence that most Americans, in 
a moral sense, pass, as any man could he.” 

“ It is indeed a newspaper and magazine existence,” said 
John Effingham, smiling at Paul’s terms, “ to know life only 
through such mediums ! It is as bad as the condition of 
those English who form their notions of society from novels 
written by men and women who have no access to- it, and 
from the records of the court journal. I thank you sin- 
cerely, Mr. Powis, for this confidence, which has not been 
idly solicited on my part, and which shall not be abused. 
At no distant day we will break the seals again, and renew 
our investigations into this affair of the unfortunate Monday, 
which is not yet, certainly, very promising in the way of 
revelations.” 

The gentlemen shook hands cordially, and Paul, lighted 
by his companion, withdrew. When the young man was at 
the door of his own room he turned, and saw John Efiing- 
ham following him with his eye. The latter then renewed 
the good night, with one of those winning smiles that ren- 
dered his face so brilliantly handsome, and each retired. 


14 


314 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

“ Item, a capon, 2s. 2(?. 

Item, sauce, ^d. 

Item, sack, two gallons, 5s. 8c?. 

Item, bread, a half-penny.” 

Shakspeabe. 

The next day John Effingham made no allusion to the 
conversation of the previous night, though the squeeze of 
the hand he gave Paul when they met, was an assurance 
that nothing was forgotten. As he had a secret pleasure in 
obeying any injunction of Eve’s, the young man himself 
sought Captain Truck even before they had breakfasted ; 
and as he had made an acquaintance with “ the commodore” 
on the lake, previously to the arrival of the Effinghams, 
that worthy w^as summoned, and regularly introduced to the 
honest ship-master. The meeting between these two dis- 
tinguished men was grave, ceremonious, and dignified, each 
probably feeling that he was temporarily the guardian of a 
particular portion of an element that was equally dear to 
both. After a few minutes passed, as it might be, in the 
preliminary points of etiquette, a better feeling and more 
confidence was established, and it was soon settled that they 
should fish in company the rest of the day, Paul promising 
to row the ladies out on the lake, and to join them in the 
course of the afternoon. 

As the party quitted the breakfast-table. Eve took an 
occasion to thank the young man for his attention to their 
common friend, who, it was reported, had taken his mor- 
ning’s repast at an early hour, and was already on the lake. 




HOME AS FOUND. 


the day by this time having advanced within two hours of 
noon. 

“ I have dared even to exceed your instructions, Miss 
Effingham,” said Paul, “ for I have promised the captain to 
endeavor to persuade you, and as many of the ladies as pos- 
sible, to trust yourselves to my seamanship, and to submit to 
be rowed out to the spot where we shall find him and his 
friend, the commodore, riding at anchor.” 

“ An engagement that my infiuence shall be used to 
see fulfilled. Mrs. Bloomfield has already expressed a 
desire to go on the Otsego-Water, and I make no doubt 
I shall find other companions. Once more let me thank 
you for this little attention, for I too well know your tastes 
not to understand that you might find a more agreeable 
ward.” 

“ Upon my word I feel a sincere regard for our old 
captain, and could often wish for no better companion. 
Were he, however, as disagreeable as I find him, in truth, 
pleasant and frank, your wishes would conceal all his 
faults.” 

“ You have learned, Mr. Powis, that small attentions are 
as much remembered as important services, and after having 
saved our lives, wish to prove that you can discharge les 
petits devoirs socials^ as well as perform great deeds. I trust 
you will persuade Sir George Templemore to be of our 
party, and at four we shall be ready to accompany you ; 
until then I am contracted to a gossip with Mrs. Bloomfield, 
in her dressing-room.” 

We shall now leave the party on the land, and follow 
those who have already taken boat, or the fishermen. The 
beginning of the intercourse between the salt-water navi- 
gator and his fresh-water companion was again a little con- 
strained and critical. Their professional terms agreed as ill 
as possible, for v^en the captain used the expression “ ship 
the oars,” the commodore understood just the reverse of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


what it had been intended to express ; and once, when he 
told his companion to “ give way,” the latter took the hint 
so literally as actually to cease rowing. All these profes- 
sional niceties induced the worthy ship-master to under- 
value his companion, who, in the main, was very skilful in 
his particular pursuit, though it was a skill that he exerted 
after the fashions of his own lake, and not after the fashions 
of the ocean. Owing to several contretemps of this nature, 
by the time they reached the fishing-ground the captain 
began to entertain a feeling for the commodore, that ill 
comported with the deference due to his titular rank. 

“ I have come out with you, commodore,” said Captain 
Truck, when they had got to their station, and laying a 
peculiar emphasis on the appellation he used, “ in order to 
enjoy myself, and you will confer an especial favor on me 
by not using such phrases as ‘ cable-rope,’ ‘ casting anchor,’ 
and ‘ titivating.’ As for the two first, no seaman ever uses 
them, and I never heard such a word on board a ship as the 
last. D e, sir, if I believe it is to be found in the dic- 

tionary, even.” 

“You amaze me, sir! ‘Casting anchor’ and ‘cable- 
rope’ are both Bible phrases, and they must be right.” 

“ That follows by no means, commodore, as I have some 
reason to know ; for my father having been a parson and I 
being a seaman, we may be said to have the whole subject, 
as it were, in the family. St. Paul — you have heard of such 
a man as St. Paul, commodore ?” 

“ I know him almost by heart. Captain Truck ; but St. 
Peter and St. Andrew were the men most after my heart. 
Ours is an ancient calling, sir, and in those two instances 
you see to what a fisherman can rise. I do not remember 
to have ever heard of a sea-captain who was converted into 
a saint.” 

“ Aye, aye, there is always too much to do on board ship 
to have time to be much more than a beginner in religion. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


317 


There was my mate, v’y’ge before last, Torn Leach, who is 
now master of a ship of his own, had he been brought up 
to it properly, he would have made as conscientious a par- 
son as did his grandfather before him. Such' a man would 
have been a seaman as well as a parson. I have little to 
say against St. Peter or St. Andrew, but, in my judgment, 
they were none the better saints for having been fishermen ; 
and if the truth were knowm, I dare say they were at the 
bottom of introducing such lubberly phrases into the Bible 
as ‘ casting-anchor,’ and ‘ cable-rope.” 

“ Pray, sir,” asked the commodore, with dignity, “ what 
are you in the practice of saying when yon speak of such 
matters? for to be frank with you, we always use these 
terms on these lakes.” 

“ Aye, aye, there is a fresh-water smell about them. We 
say ‘ anchor,’ or ‘ let go the anchor,’ or ‘ dropped the 
anchor,’ or some such reasonable expression, and not ‘ cast 
anchor,’ as if a bit of iron, weighing two or three tons, is to 
be jerked about like a stone big enough to kill a bird with. 
As for the ‘ cable-rope,’ as you call it, we say the ‘ cable,’ or 
‘the chain,’ or ‘ the ground tackle,’ according to reason and 
circumstances. Yon never hear a real ‘ salt’ flourishing his 
‘ cable-ropes,’ and his ‘ casting-anchors,’ which are altogether 
too sentimental and particular for his manner of speaking. 
As for ‘ ropes,’ I suppose yon have not got to be a commo- 
dore, and need being told how many there are in a ship.” 

“ I do not pretend to have counted them, bnt I have seen 
a ship, sir, and one under full sail, too, and I know there 
were as many ropes about her as there are pines on the 
Vision.” 

“ Are there more than seven of these trees on your moun- 
tain ? for that is just the number of ropes in a merchant- 
man *, though a man-of-war’ s-man counts one or two more.” 

“ You astonish me, sir ! But seven ropes in a ship ?— I 
should have said there are seven hundred !” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


;}18 

“ I dare say, I dare say ; that is just the way in which a 
landsman pretends to criticise a vessel. As for the ropes, I 
will now give you their names, and then you can lay athwart 
hawse of these canoe gentry by the hour, and teach them 
rigging and modesty both at the -same time. In the first 
place,” continued the captain, jerking at his line, and then 
beginning to count on his fingers — “ There is the ‘ man- 
rope then come the bucket-rope,’ the ‘ tiller-rope,’ the 
‘ bolt-rope,’ the ‘ foot-rope,’ the ‘ top-rope,’ and the ‘ limber- 
rope.’ I have followed the seas, now, more than half a cen- 
tury, and never yet heard of a ‘ cable-rope,’ from any one 
who could hand, reef, and steer.” 

“Well, sir, every man to his trade,” said the commodore, 
who just then pulled in a fine pickerel, which was the third 
he had taken, while his companion rejoiced in no more than 
a few fruitless bites. “ You are more expert in ropes than 
in lines, it would seem. I shall not deny your experience 
and knowledge ; but in the way of fishing, you will at least 
allow that the sea is no great school. I dare say, now, if 
you were to hook the ‘ sogdollager,’ we should have you 
jumping into the lake to get rid of him. Quite pro- 
bably, sir, you never before heard of that celebrated 
fish?” 

Notwithstanding the many excellent qualities of Captain 
Truck, he had a weakness that is rather peculiar to a class 
of men, who, having seen so much of this earth, are unwil- 
ling to admit they have not seen it all. The little brush in 
which he Avas now engaged with the commodore he con- 
ceived due to his own dignity, and his motive was duly to 
impress his companion with his superiority, which being 
fairly admitted, he would have been ready enough to ac- 
knowledge that the other understood pike-fishing much bet- 
ter than himself. But it was quite too early in the discus- 
sion to make any such avowal, and the supercilious remark 
of the commodore putting him on his mettle, he was ready 


HOME AS FOUND. 


319 


to affirm that lie had eaten “ sogdollagers ” for breakfast, a 
month at a time, had it been necessary. 

“ Pooh ! pooh ! man,” returned the captain, with an air 
of cool indifference, “ you do not surely fancy that you have 
anything in a lake like this that is not to be found in the 
ocean ! If you were to see a whale’s flukes thrashing your 
puddle, every cruiser among you would run for a port ; and 
as for ‘ sogdollagers,’ we think little of them in salt-water ; 
the flying-flsh, or even the dry dolphin, being much the best 
eating.” 

“ Sir,” said the commodore, with some heat, and a great 
deal of emphasis, “ there is but one ‘ sogdollager’ in the 
world, and he is in this lake. No man has ever seen him 
but my predecessor, the ‘ Admiral,’ and myself.” 

“ Bah !” ejaculated the captain, “ they are as plenty as 
soft clams in the Mediterranean, and the Egyptians use them 
as a pan-fish. In the East they catch them to bait with, for 
halibut and oth«r middling sized creatures, that are parti- 
cular about their diet. It is a good fish, I own, as is seen 
in this very circumstance.” 

“ Sir,” repeated the commodore, flourishing his hand, and 
waxing warm with earnestness, “ there is but one ‘ sogdol- 
lager’ in the universe, and that is in Lake Otsego. A ‘ sog- 
dollager’ is a salmon trout, and not a species ; a sort of 
father to all the salmon trout in this part of the world ; a 
scaly patriarch.” 

“ I make no doubt your ‘ sogdollager’ is scaly enough ; 
but what is the use in wasting words about such a trifle ? 
A whale is the only fish fit to occupy a gentleman’s thoughts. 
As long as I have been at sea, I have never witnessed the 
taking of more than three whales.” 

This allusion happily preserved the peace ; for, if there 
were anything in the world for which the commodore enter- 
tained a profound but obscure reverence, it was for a whale. 
He even thought better of a man for having actually seen 


320 


HOME AS FOUND. 


one gambolling in the freedom of the ocean ; and his mind 
became suddenly oppressed by the glory of a mariner, who 
had passed his life among such gigantic animals. Shoving 
back his cap, the old man gazed steadily at the captain a 
minute, and all his displeasure about the “ sogdollagers” va- 
nished, though, in his inmost mind, he set down all that the 
other had told him on that particular subject as so many 
parts of a regular “ fish-story.” 

“ Captain Truck,” he said, with solemnity, “ I acknow- 
ledge myself to be but an ignorant and inexperienced man, 
one who has passed his life on this lake, which, broad and 
beautiful as it is, must seem a pond in the eyes of a seaman 
like yourself, who have passed your days on the A’lan- 
tic ” 

“ Atlantic !” interrupted the captain contemptuously, “ I 
should have but a poor opinion of myself, had I seen nothing 
but the Atlantic ! Indeed, I never can believe I am at sea 
at all on the Atlantic, the passages between New York and 
Portsmouth being little more than so much canalling along 
a tow-path. If you wish to say anything about oceans, talk 
of the Pacific or of the Great South Sea, where a man may 
run a month with a fair wind, and hardly go from island to 
island. Indeed, that is an ocean in which there is a manu- 
factory of islands, for they turn them off in lots to supply 
the market, and of a size to suit customers.” 

“ A manufactory of islands !” repeated the commodore, 
who began to entertain an awe of his companion that he 
never expected to feel for any human being on Lake Otse- 
go ; “ are you certain, sir, there is no mistake in this ?” 

“ None in the least ; not only islands, but whole Archipe- 
lagos are made annually by the sea insects in that quarter 
of the world ; but, then, you are not to form your notions 
of an insect in such an ocean by the insects you see in such 
a bit of water as this.” 

“ As big as our pickerel, or salmon trout, I dare say ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


321 


returned the commodore, in the simplicity of his heart, for 
by this time his local and exclusive conceit was thoroughly 
humbled, and he was almost ready to believe anything. 

“ I say nothing of their size, for it is to their numbers and 
industry that I principally allude now. A solitary shark, I 
dare say, would set your whole lake in commotion ?” 

“ I think we might manage a shark, sir. I once saw 
one of those animals, and I do really believe the sogdolla- 
gcr would outweigh him. I do think we might manage a 
shark, sir.” 

“ Aye, you mean an in-shore, high-latitude fellow. But 
what would you say to a shark as long as one of those pines 
on the mountain ?” 

“ Such a monster would take in a man, whole ?” 

“ A man ! He would take in a platoon, Indian file. I 
dare say one of those pines, now, may be thirty or forty 
feet high !” 

A gleam of intelligence and of exultation shot across the 
weather-beaten face of the old fisherman, for he detected a 
weak spot in the other’s knowledge. The worthy captain, 
with that species of exclusiveness which accompanies excel- 
lence in any one thing, was quite ignorant of most matters 
that pertain to the land. That there should bo a tree, so 
far inland, that was larger than his main-yard, he did not 
think probable, although that yard itself was made of part 
of a tree ; and, in the laudable intention of duly impressing 
his companion with the superiority of a real seaman over a 
mere fresh-water navigator, he had inadvertently laid bare a 
weak spot in his estimate of heights and distances, that the 
commodore seized upon with some such avidity as the 
pike seizes the hook. This accidental mistake alone saved 
the latter from an abject submission, for the cool superiority 
of the captain had so far deprived him of his conceit, that 
he was almost ready to acknowledge himself no better than a 
dog, when he caught a glimpse of light through this opening. 

14 ^ 


322 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ There is not a pine, that can he called of age, on all the 
mountain, which is not more than a hundred feet high, and 
many are nearer two,” he cried in exultation, flourishing 
his hand. “ The sea may have its big monsters, captain, 
but our hills have their big trees. Did you ever see a 
shark half that length ?” 

Now, Captain Truck was a man of truth, although so 
much given to occasional humorous violations of its laws, 
and, withal, a little disposed to dwell upon the marvels of 
the great deep in the spirit of exaggeration, and he could 
not in conscience affirm anything so extravagant as this. 
He was accordingly obliged to admit his mistake, and from 
this moment the conversation was carried on with a greater 
regard to equality. They talked, as they fished, of politics, 
religion, philosophy, human nature, the useful arts, abolition, 
and most other subjects that would be likely to interest a 
couple of Americans who had nothing to do but to twitch, 
from time to time, at two lines dangling in the water. 
Although few people possess less of the art of conversation 
than our own countrymen, no other nation takes as wide a 
range in its discussions. He is but a very indifferent Ameri- 
can that does not know, or thinks he knows, a little of every- 
thing, and neither of our worthies was in the least back- 
ward in supporting the claims of the national character in 
this respect. This general discussion completely restored 
amity between the parties; for, to confess the truth, our 
old friend the captain was a little rebuked about the affair 
of the tree. The only peculiarity worthy of notice, that 
occurred in the course of their various digressions, was the 
fact, that the commodore insensibly began to style his com- 
panion “ General the courtesy of the country, in his eyes, 
appearing to require that a man who had seen so much 
more than himself, should, at least, enjoy a title equal to his 
own in rank, and that of Admiral being proscribed by the 
sensitiveness of Republican principles. After fishing a few 


HOME AS FOUND. 


323 


hours, the old later pulled the skiff up to the Point so often 
mentioned, where he lighted a fire on the grass, and pre- 
pared a dinner. When everything was ready, the two 
seated themselves, and began to enjoy the fruits of their 
labors in a way that will be understood by all sports- 
men. 

“ I have never thought of asking you, general,” said the 
commodore, as he began to masticate a perch, “ whether you 
are an aristocrat or a democrat. We have had the govern- 
ment pretty much upside-down, too, this morning, but this 
question has escaped me.” 

“ As we are here by ourselves under these venerable oaks, 
and talking like two old messmates,” returned the general, 
“ I shall just own the truth, and make no bones of it. I 
have been captain of my own ship so long, that I have a 
most thorough contempt for all equality. It is a vice that I 
deprecate, and, whatever may be the laws of this country, I 
am of opinion that equality is nowhere borne out by the 
Law of Nations ; which, after all, commodore, is the only 
true law for a gentleman to live under.” 

“ That is the law of the strongest, if I understand the 
matter, general.” 

“Only reduced to rules. The Law of Nations, to own the 
truth to you, is full of categories, and this will give an enter- 
prising man an opportunity to make use of his knowledge. 
Would you believe, commodore, that there are countries in 
which they lay taxes on tobacco ?” 

“ Taxes on tobacco ! Sir, I never heard of such an act of 
oppression under the forms of law ! What has tobacco done, 
that any one should think of taxing it ?” 

“ I believe, commodore, that its greatest offence is being 
so general a favorite. Taxation, I have found, differs from 
most other things, generally attacking that which men 
most prize.” 

“This is quite new to me, general; a tax on tobacco! 


324 


HOME AS FOUND. 


The law-makers in those countries cannot chew. I drink to 
your good health, sir, and to many happy returns of such 
banquets as this.” 

Here the commodore raised a large silver punch-bowl, 
which Pierre had furnished, to his lips, and fastening his 
eyes on the boughs of a gnarled oak, he looked like a man 
who was taking an observation, for near a minute. All this 
time, the captain regarded him with a sympathetic plea- 
sure, and when the bowl was free, he imitated the example, 
levelling his own eye at a cloud, that seemed floating at an 
angle of forty-five degrees above him, expressly for that 
purpose. 

“ There is a lazy cloud !” exclaimed the general, as he let 
go his hold to catch breath; “I have been watching it 
some time, and it has not moved an inch.” 

“ Tobacco !” repeated the commodore, drawing a long 
breath, as if he was just recovering the play of his lungs, 
“ I should as soon think of laying a tax on punch. The 
country that pursues such a policy must sooner or later 
meet with a downfall. I never knew good to come of per- 
secution.” 

“ I find you are a sensible man, commodore, and regret I 
did not make your acquaintance earlier in life. Have you 
yet made up your mind on the subject of religious faith ?” 

“ Why, my dear general, not to be nibbling, like a sucker 
with a sore mouth, with a person of your liberality, I shall 
give you a plain history of my adventures, in the way of 
experiences, that you may judge for yourself. I was born 
an Episcopalian, if one can say so, but was converted to 
Presbyterianism at twenty. I stuck to this denomination 
about five years, when I thought I would try the Baptists, 
having got to be fond of the water by this time. At 
thirty-two I fished awhile with the Methodists ; since which 
conversion, I have chosen to worship God pretty much by 
myself, out here on the lake.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


325 


“Do you consider it any harm to hook a fish of a 
Sunday ?” 

“ No more than it is to eat a fish of a Sunday. I go 
altogether by faith in my religion, general, for they talk so 
much to me of the uselessness of works, that I’ve got to be 
very unparticular as to what I do. Your people who have 
been converted four or five times, are like so many pickerel, 
which strike at every hook.” 

“This is very much my case. Now, on the river — of 
course you know where the river is ?” 

“ Certain,” said the commodore ; “ it is at the foot of the 
lake.” 

“My dear commodore, when we say ‘the river,’ we 
always mean the Connecticut ; and I am surprised a man 
of your sagacity should require to be told this. , There are 
people on the river who contend that a ship should heave- 
to of a Sunday. They did talk of getting up an Anti- 
Sunday-Sailing-Society, hut the ship-masters were too many 
for them, since they threatened to start a society to put 
down the growing of inyens (the captain would sometimes 
use this pronunciation) except of week-days. Well, I 
started in life on the platform tack, in the way of religion, 
and I believe I shall stand on the same course till orders 
come to ‘ cast anchor,’ as you call it. With you, I hold 
out for faith, as the one thing needful. Pray, my good 
friend, what are your real sentiments concerning ‘Old 
Hickory ? ’ ” 

“ Tough, sir ; tough as a day in February on this lake. 
All fins, and gills, and bones.” 

“ That is the justest character I have yet heard of the 
old gentleman ; and then it says so much in a few words ; 
no category about it. I hope the punch is to your liking ?” 

On this hint the old fisherman raised the bowl a second 
time to his lips, and renewed the agreeable duty of letting 
its contents flow down his throat in a pleasant stream. 


326 


HOME AS FOUND. 


This time he took aim at a gull that was sailing over his 
head, only relinquishing the draught as the bird settled into 
the water. The “ general” was more particular ; for select- 
ing a stationary object in the top of an oak that grew on 
the mountain near him, he studied it with an admirable 
abstruseness of attention, until the last drop was drained. 
As soon as this startling fact was mentioned, liowever, both 
the convives set about repairing the accident, by squeezing 
lemons, sweetening water, and mixing liquors, secundum 
artem. At the same time, each lighted a cigar, and the 
conversation, for some time, was carried on between their 
teeth. 

“ AVe have been so frank with each other to-day, my 
excellent commodore,” said Captain Truck, “ that did I 
know your true sentiments concerning Temperance Socie- 
ties, I should look on your inmost soul as a part of myself. 
By these free communications men get really to know each 
other.” 

“ If liquor is not made to be drunk, for what is it made ? 
Any one may see that this lake was made for skiffs and 
fishing ; it has a length, breadth, and depth, suited to such 
purposes. Now, here is liquor distilled, bottled, and corked, 
and I ask if all does not show that it was made to be drunk. 
I dare say your temperance men are ingenious, but let them 
answer that if they can.” 

“ I wish from my heart, my dear sir, we had known each 
other fifty years since. That would have brought you ac- 
quainted with salt-water, and left nothing to be desired in 
your character. AVe think alike, I believe, in everything 
but on the virtues of fresh-water. If these temperance peo- 
ple had their way, we should all be turned into so many 
Turks, who never taste wine, and yet marry a dozen 
wives.” 

“ One of the great merits of fresh-water, general, is what 
I call its mixable quality.” 


\ ; 


HOME AS FOUND. 


327 


“ There would be an end to Saturday nights, too, which 
are the seamen’s tea-parties.” 

“ I question if many of them fish in the rain from sunrise 
to sunset.” 

“ Or stand their watches in wet pee-jackets from sunset 
to sunrise. Splicing the main-brace at such times is the 
very quintessence of human enjo3nTients.” 

“ If liquors were not made to be drunk,” put in the com- 
modore, logically, “ I would again ask for what are they 
made ? Let the temperance men get over that difficulty if 
they can.” 

“ Commodore, I wish you twenty more good hearty years 
of fishing in this lake, which grows, each instant, more 
beautiful in my eyes, as I confess does the whole earth ; 
and to show you that I say no more than I think, I will 
clench it with a draught.” 

Captain Truck now brought his right eye to bear on the 
new moon, which happened to be at a convenient height, 
closed the left one, and continued in that attitude until the 
commodore began seriously to think he was to get nothing 
besides the lemon-seeds for his share. This apprehension, 
however, could only arise from ignorance of his companion’s 
character, than whom a juster man, according to the notions 
of ship-masters, did not live; and had one measured the 
punch that was left in the bowl when this draught was end- 
ed, he would have found that precisely one half of it was 
- still untouched, to a thimbleful. The commodore now had 
his turn ; and before he got through, the bottom of the ves- 
sel was as much uppermost as the butt of a clubbed firelock. 
When the honest fisherman took breath after this exploit, 
and lowered his cup from the vault of heaven to the surface 
of the earth, he caught a view of a boat crossing the lake, 
coming from the Silent Pine, to that Point on which they 
were enjoying so many agreeable hallucinations on the sub- 
ject of temperance. 


323 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Yonder is the party from the Wigwam,” he said, “ and 
they will be just in time to become converts to our opinions, 
if they have any doubts on the subjects we have discussed. 
Shall we give up the ground to them, by taking to the skiff, 
or do you feel disposed to face the women ?” 

“ Under ordinary circumstances, commodore, I should 
prefer your society to all the- petticoats in the State, but 
there are two ladies in that party, either of whom I would 
marry, any day, at a minute’s warning.” 

“ Sir,” said the commodore, with a tone of warning, “ we, 
who have lived bachelors so long, and are wedded to the 
water, ought never to speak lightly on so grave a subject.” 

“ Nor do I. Two women, one of whom is twenty, and 
the other seventy — and hang me if I know which I prefer.” 

“ You would soonest be rid of the last, my dear general, 
and my advice is to take her.” 

“ Old as she is, sir, a king would have to plead hard to 
get her consent. We will make them some punch, that 
they may see we were mindful of them in their absence.” 

To work these worthies now went in earnest, in order to 
anticipate the arrival of the party, and as the different com- 
pounds were in the course of mingling, the conversation did 
not flag. By this time both the salt-water and the fresh- 
water sailor were in that condition when men are apt to 
think aloud, and the commodore had lost all his awe of his 
companion. 

“ My dear sir,” said the former, “ I am a thousand times 
sorry you came from that river, for, to tell you my mind 
without any concealment, my only objection to you is that 
you are not of the middle states. I admit the good quali- 
ties of the Yankees, in a general way, and yet they are the 
very worst neighbors that a man can have.” 

“ This is a new character of them, commodore, as they 
generally pass for the best in their own eyes. I should like 
to hear you explain your meaning.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


329 


“ I call him a bad neighbor who never remains long 
enough in a place to love anything but himself. Now, sir, 
I have a feeling for every pebble on the shore of this lake, 
a sympathy with every wave” — here the commodore began 
to twirl his hand about, with the fingers standing apart, like 
so many spikes in a chevaux-de-frise — “ and each hour, as I 
row across it, I find I like it better ; and yet, sir, would you 
believe me, I often go away of a morning to pass the day 
on the water, and, on returning home at night, find half the 
houses filled with new faces.” 

“ What becomes of the old ones ?” demanded Captain 
Truck ; for this, it struck him, was getting the better of 
him with his own weapons, “ Do vou mean that the peo- 
ple come and go like the tides ?” 

“ Exactly so, sir ; just as it used to be with the herrings 
in the Otsego, before the Susquehannah was dammed, and is 
still, with the swallows.” 

“ Well, well, my good friend, take consolation. You’ll 
meet all the faces you ever saw here, one day, in 
heaven.” 

“ Never ! Not a man of them will stay there, if there 
be such a thing as moving. Depend on it, sir,” added the 
commodore, in the simplicity of his heart, “ heaven is no 
place for a Yankee, if he can get further west, by hook or 
by crook. They are all too uneasy for any steady occupa- 
tion. You, who are a navigator, must know something 
concerning the stars. Is there such a thing as another 
world, that lies west of this ?” 

“ That can hardly be, commoaore, since the points of the 
compass only refer to objects on this earth. You know, I 
suppose, that a man starting from this spot, and travelling 
due west, would arrive in time at this very point, coming 
in from the east. So that what is west to us, in the 
heavens, on this side of the world, is east to those on the 
other.” 


330 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ This I confess I did not know, general. I have under^ 
stood that what is good in one man’s eyes, will he bad in 
another’s ; hut never before have I heard that what is west to 
one man, lies east to another. I am afraid, general, that 
there is a little of the sogdollager bait in this ?” 

“ Not enough, sir, to catch the merest fresh-water gudgeon 
that swims. No, no ; there is neither east nor west off the 
earth, nor any up and down ; and so we Yankees must try 
and content ourselves with heaven. Now, commodore, hand 
me the bowl, and we will get it ready down to the shore, 
and offer the ladies our homage. And so you have become 
a laker in your religion, my dear commodore,” continued the 
general, between his teeth, while he smoked and squeezed a 
lemon at the same time, “ and do your worshipping on the 
water ?” 

“Altogether of late, and more especially since my 
dream ?” 

“ Dream ! My dear sir, I should think you altogether 
too innocent a man to dream.” 

“ The best of us have our failings, general. I do some- 
times dream, I own, as well as the greatest sinner of them all.” 

“ And what did you dream — the sogdollager ?” 

“ I dreamt of death.” 

“ Of slipping the cable !” cried the general, looking up 
suddenly. “Well, what was the drift ?” 

“ Why, sir, having no wings, I went down below, and 
soon found myself in the presence of the old gentleman him- 
self.” 

“ That was pleasant. Had he a tail ? I have always been 
curious to know whether he really has a tail or not.” 

“ I saw none, sir ; but then we stood face to face, like 
gentlemen, and I cannot describe what I did not see.” 

“ Was he glad to see you, commodore?” 

“ Why, sir, he was civilly spoken, but his occupation pre- 
vented many compliments.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


331 


“ Occupation !” 

“Certainly, sir ; he was cutting out shoes, for his imps to 
travel about in, in order to stir up mischief.” 

“ And did he set you to work ? This is a sort of state 
prison affair, after all ?” 

“ No, sir, he was too much of a gentleman to set me at 
making shoes as soon as I arrived. He first inquired what 
part of the country I was from, and when I told him, ho 
was curious to know what most of the people were about in 
our neighborhood.” 

“ You told him, of course, commodore ?” 

“Certainly, sir, I told him their chief occupation was 
quarrelling about religion — making saints of themselves, and 
sinners of their neighbors. ‘ Hollo !’ says the devil, calling 
to one of his imps, ‘ boy, run and catch my horse. I must 
be off, and have a finger in that pie. What denominations 
have you in that quarter, commodore?’ So I told him, 
general, that we had Baptists, and Quakers, and Universal- 
ists, and Episcopalians, and Presbyterians, old lights, new 

lights, and blue lights ; and Methodists . ‘ Stop,’ said 

the devil, ‘ that’s enough ; you imp, be nimble with that 
horse. Let me see, commodore, what part of the country 
did you say you came from ?’ I told him the name more 
distinctly this time ” 

“ The very spot ?” 

“ Town and county.” 

“ And what did the devil say to that ?” 

“ He called out to the imp again — ‘ Hollo, you boy, never 
mind that horse. These people will all be here before I 
can get there.’ ” 

Here the commodore and the general began to laugh, 
until the arches of the forest rang with their merriment. 
Three times they stopped, and as often did they return to their 
glee, until, the punch being ready, each took a fresh draught, 
in order to ascertain if it were fit to be offered to the ladies. 


332 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XX. 

“ O Komeo, Eomeo, wherefore art thou Romeo ?” 

Romeo and Juliet. 

The usual effect of punch is to cause people to see double ; 
but on this occasion, the mistake was the other way ; for 
two boats had touched the strand, instead of the one 
announced by the commodore, and they brought with them 
the whole party from the Wigwam, Steadfast and Aristabu- 
lus included. A domestic or two had also been brought to 
prepare the customary repast. 

Captain Truck was as good as his word, as respects the 
punch, and the beverage was offered to each of the ladies in 
form, as soon as her feet had touched the green sward 
which covers that beautiful spot. Mrs. Hawker declined 
drinking, in a way to delight the gallant seaman ; for so 
completely had she got the better of all his habits and 
prejudices, that everything she did, seemed right and gra- 
cious in his eyes. 

The party soon separated into groups, or pairs, some 
being seated on the margin of the limpid water, enjoying 
the light cool airs by which it was fanned ; others lay off in 
the boats fishing, while the remainder plunged into the 
woods, that, in their native wildness, bounded the little spot 
of verdure, which, canopied by old oaks, formed the arena 
so lately in controversy. In this manner an hour or two 
soon slipped away, when a summons was given for all to 
assemble around the viands. 

The repast was laid on the grass, notwithstanding Arista- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


333 


bulus more than hinted that the public, his beloved public, 
usually saw fit to introduce rude tables for that purpose. 
The Messrs. Efiingham, however, were not to be taught by 
a mere bird of passage, how a rustic fete so peculiarly their 
own ought to be conducted, and the attendants were 
directed to spread the dishes on the turf. Around this spot, 
rustic seats were improvises^ and the business of restauration 
proceeded. Of all there assembled, the Parisian feelings of 
Mademoiselle Viefville were the most excited ; for to her, 
the scene was one of pure delights, with the noble panorama 
of forest-clad mountains, the mirror-like lake, the over- 
shadowing oaks, and the tangled brakes of the adjoining 
woods. 

“ Mais, vraiment ceci surpasse les Tuileries, meme dans 
Icur propre genre !” she exclaimed, with energy. “ On 
passerait volontiers par les dangers du desert pour y par- 
venir.” 

Those who understood her, smiled at this characteristic 
remark, and most felt disposed to join in the enthusiasm. 
Still, the manner in which their companions expressed the 
happiness they felt, appeared tame and unsatisfactory to 
Mr. Bragg and Mr. Dodge, these two persons being accus- 
tomed to see the young of the two sexes indulge in broader 
exhibitions of merry-making than those in which it com- 
ported with the tastes and habits of the present party to 
indulge. In vain Mrs. Hawker, in her quiet, dignified way, 
enjoyed the ready wit and masculine thoughts of Mrs. 
Bloomfield, appearing to renew her youth ; or Eve, wdth 
her sweet simplicity, and highly cultivated mind and 
improved tastes, seemed, like a highly polished mirror, to 
throw back the flashes of thought and memory, that so con- 
stantly gleamed before both ; it was all lost on these 
thoroughly matter-of-fact utilitarians. Mr. Effingham, all 
courtesy and mild refinement, was seldom happier, and 
John Effingham was never more pleasant ; for he had laid 


334 


HOME AS FOUND. 


aside the severity of his character, to appear, what he ought 
always to have been, a man in whom intelligence and quick- 
ness of thought could be made to seem secondary to the 
gentler qualities. The young men were not behind their 
companions, either, each in his particular way appearing to 
advantage, gay, regulated, and full of a humor that was 
rendered so much the more agreeable, by drawing its ima- 
ges from a knowledge of the world that was tempered by 
observation and practice. 

Poor Grace, alone, was the only one of the whole party, 
always excepting Aristabulus and Steadfast, who, for those 
fleeting but gay hours, was not thoroughly happy. For the 
first time in her life she felt her own deflciencies, that ready 
and available knowledge so exquisitely feminine in its nature 
and exhibition, which escaped Mrs. Bloomfield and Eve, as 
it might be from its own excess, which the former possessed 
almost intuitively, a gift of Heaven, and which the latter 
enjoyed, not only from the same source, but as a just conse- 
quence of her long and steady self-denial, application, and a 
proper appreciation of her duty to herself, was denied one 
who, in ill-judged compliance with the customs of a society 
that has no other apparent aim than the love of display, had 
precluded herself from enjoyments that none but the intel- 
lectual can feel. Still Grace was beautiful and attractive ; 
and though she wondered where her cousin, in general so 
simple and unpretending, had acquired all those stores of 
thought, that in the abandon and freedom of such a fete 
escaped her in rich profusion, embellished with ready allu- 
sions and a brilliant though chastened wit, her generous 
and affectionate heart could permit her to wonder without 
envying. She perceived, for the first time on this occasion, 
that if Eve were indeed a Hajji, it was not a Hajji of a com- 
mon school ; and while her modesty and self-abasement led 
her bitterly to regret the hours irretrievably wasted in the 
frivolous levities so common to those of her sex with whom 


HOME AS FOUND. 


335 


she had been most accustomed to mingle, her sincere regret 
did not lessen her admiration for one she began tenderly to 
love. 

As for Messrs. Dodge and Bragg, they both determined 
in their own minds that this was much the most stupid 
entertainment they had ever seen on that spot, for it was 
entirely destitute of loud laughing, noisy merriment, coarse 
witticisms, and practical jokes. To them it appeared the 
height of arrogance for any particular set of persons to 
presume to come to a spot rendered sacred by the public 
suffrage in its favor, in order to indulge in these outlandish 
dog-in-the-mangerisms. 

Towards the close of this gay repast, and when the party 
were about to yield their places to the attendants, who 
were ready to reship the utensils, John Effingham observed — 

“ I trust, Mrs. Hawker, you have been duly warned of the 
catastrophe-character of this point, on which woman is said 
never to have been wooed in vain. Here are Captain 
Truck and myself, ready at any moment to use these carv- 
ing knives, /aut des Bowies^ in order to show our desperate 
devotion ; and I deem it no more than prudent in you, not 
to smile again this day, lest the cross-eyed readings of 
jealousy should impute a wrong motive.” 

“ Had the injunction been against laughing, sir, I might 
have resisted, but smiles are far too feeble to express one’s 
approbation on such a day as this ; you may therefore trust 
to my discretion. Is it then true, however, that Hymen 
haunts these shades ?” 

“ A bachelor’s history of the progress of love may be, 
like the education of his children, distrusted, but so sayeth 
tradition ; and I never put my foot in the place without 
making fresh vows of constancy to myself. After this 
announcement of the danger, dare you accept an arm, for I 
perceive signs that life cannot be entirely wasted in these 
pleasures, great as they may prove.” 


336 


HOME AS FOUND. 


The whole party arose, and separating naturally, they 
strolled in groups or pairs again, along the pebbly strand, or 
beneath the trees, while the attendants made the prepara- 
tions to depart. Accident, as much as design, left Sir 
George and Grace alone, for neither perceived the circum- 
stance until they had both passed a little rise in the forma- 
tion of the ground, and were beyond the view of their 
companions. The baronet was the first to perceive how 
much he had been favored by fortune, and his feelings were 
touched by the air of gentle melancholy that shaded 
the usually bright and brilliant countenance of the beauti- 
ful girl. 

“ I should have thrice enjoyed this pleasant day,” he 
said, with an interest in his manner that caused the heart 
of Grace to beat quicker, “had I not seen that to you 
it has been less productive of satisfaction than to most 
of those around you. I fear you may not be as well as 
usual ?” 

“ In health, never better, though not in spirits, perhaps.” 

“ I could wish I had a right to inquire why you, who 
have so few causes in general to be out of spirits, should 
have chosen a moment so little in accordance with the com- 
mon feeling.” 

“ I have chosen no moment ; the moment has chosen 
me, I fear. Not until this day. Sir George Templemore, 
have I ever been truly sensible of my great inferiority to 
my cousin, Eve.” 

“ An inferiority that no one but yourself would observe 
or mention.” 

“No, I am neither vain enough nor ignorant enough 
to be the dupe of this flattery,” returned Grace, shaking her 
hands and head, while she forced a smile ; for even the de- 
lusions those we love pour into our ears are not without 
their charms. “ When I first met my cousin, after her 
return, my own imperfections rendered me blind to her 


HOME AS FOUND. 


337 


superiority ; but she herself has gradually taught me to 
respect her mind, her womanly character, her tact, her deli- 
cacy, principles, breeding, everything that can make a 
woman estimable, or worthy to be loved ! Oh ! how have 
I wasted in childish amusements and frivolous vanities the 
precious moments of that girlhood which can never be re- 
called, and left myself scarcely worthy to be an associate of 
Eve Effingham !” 

The first feelings of Grace had so far gotten the control 
that she scarce knew what she said, or to whom she was 
speaking ; she even wrung her hands in the momentary bit- 
terness of her regrets, and in a way to arouse all the sympa- 
thy of a lover. 

“ No one but yourself would say this, MissYan Cortlandt, 
and least of all your admirable cousin.” 

“ She is, indeed, my admirable cousin ! But what are 
we in comparison with such a woman ! Simple and unaf- 
fected as a child, with the intelligence of a scholar ; with 
all the graces of a woman she has the learning and mind of 
a man. Mistress of so many languages ” 

“ But you, too, speak several, my dear Miss Van Cort- 
landt.” 

“ Yes,” said Grace, bitterly, “ I speak them, as the par- 
rot repeats words that he does not understand. But Eve 
Effingham has used these languages as means, and she does 
not tell you merely what such a phrase or idiom sig- 
nifies, but what the greatest writers have thought and 
written.” 

“ No one has a more profound respect for your cousin 
than myself. Miss Van Cortlandt, but justice to you requires 
that I should say her great superiority over yourself has 
escaped me.” 

“ This may be true. Sir George Templemore, and for a 
long time it escaped me too. I have only learned to prize 
her as she ought to be prized by an intimate acquaintance ; 

15 


338 


HOME AS FOUND. 


hour by hour, as it might be. But even you must have ob- 
served how quick and intuitively my cousin and Mrs. 
Bloomfield have understood each other to-day ; how much 
extensive reading and what polished tastes they have both 
shown, and all so truly feminine ! Mrs. Bloomfield is a 
remarkable woman, but she loves these exhibitions, for she 
knows she excels in them. Not so with Eve Effingham, 
who, while she so thoroughly enjoys everything intellec- 
tual, is content always to seem so simple. Now it happens 
that the conversation turned once to-day on a subject that 
my cousin, no later than yesterday, fully explained to me, at 
my own earnest request ; and I observed that while she 
joined so naturally with Mrs. Bloomfield in adding to our 
pleasure, she kept back half what she knew, lest she might 
seem to surpass her friend. No — no — no — there is not such 
another woman as Eve EflSngham in this world !” 

“ So keen a perception of excellence in others denotes an 
equal excellence in yourself.” 

“ I know my own great inferiority now, and no kindness 
of yours. Sir George Templemore, can ever persuade me 
into a better opinion of myself. Eve has travelled, seen 
much in Europe that does not exist here, and instead of 
passing her youth in girlish trifling, has treated the minutes 
as if they were all precious, as she well knew them to be.” 

“ If Europe, then, does indeed possess these advantages, 
why not yourself visit it, dearest Miss Van Cortlandt ?” 

“ I — I a Hajji ! ” cried Grace, with childish pleasure, 
though her color heightened, and for a moment Eve and her 
superiority were forgotten. 

Certainly Sir George Templemore did not come out on 
the lake that day with an expectation of offering his baron- 
etcy, his fair estate with his hand, to this artless, half-edu- 
cated, provincial, but beautiful, girl. For a long time he had 
been debating with himself the propriety of such a step, 
and it is probable that at some later period he would have 


HOME AS POUND. 


339 


sought an occasion, had not one now so opportunely offered, 
notwithstanding all his doubts and reasonings with himself. 
If the “ woman who hesitates is lost,” it is equally true that 
the man who pretends to set up his reason alone against 
beauty, is certain to find that sense is less powerful than the 
senses. Had Grace Van Cortlandt been more sophisticated, 
less natural, her beauty might have failed to make this con- 
quest ; but the baronet found a charm in her naivete that 
was singularly winning to the feelings of a man of the 
world. Eve had first attracted him by the same quality ; 
the early education of American females being less con- 
strained and artificial than that of the English ; but in Eve 
he found a mental training, and acquisitions that left the 
quality less conspicuous, perhaps, than in her scarcely less 
beautiful cousin ; though, had Eve met his admiration with 
anything like sympathy, her power over him would not 
have been easily weakened. As it was, Grace had been 
gradually winding herself around his affections, and he now 
poured out his love in a language that her unpractised and 
already favorably disposed feelings had no means of with- 
standing. A very few minutes were allowed to them before 
the summons to the boat ; but when this summons came, 
Grace rejoined the party, elevated in her own good opinion, 
as happy as a cloudless future could make her, and without 
another thought of the immeasurable superiority of her 
cousin. 

By a singular coincidence, while the baronet and Grace 
were thus engaged on one part of the shore. Eve was the 
subject of a similar proffer of connecting herself for life on 
another. She had left the circle, attended by Paul, her 
father, and Aristabulus ; but no sooner had they reached 
the margin of the water than the two former were called 
away by Captain Truck, to settle some controverted point 
between the latter and the commodore. By this unlooked- 
for desertion. Eve found herself alone with Mr. Bragg. 


340 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ That was a funny and comprehensive remark Mr. John 
made about the ‘ Point,’ Miss Eve,” Aristabulus commenced, 
as soon as he found himself in possession of the ground. 
“ I should like to know if it be really true that no woman 
was ever unsuccessfully wooed beneath these oaks ? If such 
be the case, we gentlemen ought to be cautious how we 
come here.” 

Here Aristabulus simpered, and looked, if possible, more 
amiable than ever ; though the quiet composure and womanly 
dignity of Eve, who respected herself too much, and too 
well knew what was due to her sex, ever to enter into, or so 
far as it depended on her will, to permit any of that com- 
mon place and vulgar trifling about love and matrimony, 
which formed a never-failing theme between the youthful of 
the two sexes, in Mr. Bragg’s particular circle, sensibly 
curbed his ambitious hopes. Still he thought he had made 
too good an opening not to pursue the subject. 

“ Mr. John Effingham sometimes indulges in pleasantries,” 
Eve answered, “that would lead one astray who might 
attempt to follow.” 

“ Love is a jack-o’-lantern,” rejoined Aristabulus, senti- 
mentally. “ That I admit ; and it is no wonder so many 
get swamped in following his lights. Have you ever felt 
the tender passion. Miss Eve ?” 

Now Aristabulus had heard this question put at the 
soiree of Mrs. Houston more than once, and he believed 
himself to be in the most polite road for a regular declara- 
tion. An ordinary woman, who felt herself offended by this 
question, would most probably have stepped back, and 
raising her form to its utmost elevation, answered by an 
emphatic “ sir !” Not so with Eve. She felt the distance 
between Mr. Bragg and herself to be so great, that by no 
probable means could he even offend her by any assump- 
tion of equality. This distance was the result of opinions, 
habits, and education, rather than of condition, how- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


341 


ever ; for though Eve Effingham could become the wife of 
a gentleman only, she was entirely superior to those preju- 
dices of the world that depend on purely factitious causes. 
Instead of discovering surprise, indignation, or dramatic 
dignity, therefore, at this extraordinary question, she barely 
permitted a smile to curl her handsome mouth, and this so 
slightly as to escape her companion’s eye. 

“ I believe we are to be favored with as smooth water in 
returning to the village as we had in the morning, while 
coming to this place,” she simply said. “ You row, some- 
times, I think, Mr. Bragg?” 

“ Ah ! Miss Eve, such another opportunity may never 
occur again, for you foreign ladies are so difficult of access ! 
Let me then seize this happy moment here, beneath the 
hymeneal oaks, to offer you this faithful hand and this wil- 
ling heart. Of fortune you will have enough for both, and 
I say nothing about the miserable dross. Reflect, Miss Eve, 
how” happy we might be, protecting and soothing the old 
age of your father, and in going down the hill of life in 
company ; or, as the song says, ‘ and hand in hand we’ll go, 
and sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson, my Joe.’ ” 

“ You draw very agreeable pictures, Mr. Bragg, and with 
the touches of a master !” 

“ However agreeable you find them. Miss Eve, they fall 
infinitely short of the truth. The tie of wedlock, besides 
being the most sacred, is also the dearest ; and happy, 
indeed, are they who enter into the solemn engagement 
with such cheerful prospects as ourselves. Our ages are 
perfectly suitable, our dispositions entirely consonant, our 
habits so similar as to obviate all unpleasant changes, and 
our fortunes precisely what they ought to be to render a 
marriage happy, with confidence on one side, and gratitude 
on the other. As to the day, Miss Eve, I could wish to 
leave you altogether the mistress of that, and shall not be 
urgent.” 


342 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Eve had often heard John Effingham comment on the 
cool impudence of a particular portion of the American 
population, with great amusement to herself ; hut never did 
she expect to be the subject of an attack like this in her own 
person. By way of rendering the scene perfect, Aristabulus 
had taken out his penknife, cut a twig from a bush, and he 
now rendered himself doubly interesting by commencing 
the favorite occupation of whittling. A cooler picture of 
passion could not well have been drawn. 

“ You are bashfully silent. Miss Eve ! I make all due 
allowance for natural timidity, and shall say no more at 
present — though, as silence universally ‘gives consent 

“ If you please, sir,” interrupted Eve, with a slight motion 
of her parasol, that implied a check. “ I presume our habits 
and opinions, notwithstanding you seem to think them so 
consonant with each other, are sufficiently different to cause 
you not to see the impropriety of one, who is situated like 
yourself, abusing the confidence of a parent, by making such 
a proposal to a daughter without her father’s knowledge ; 
and, on that point, I shall say nothing. But as you have 
done me the honor of making me a very unequivocal oflfer 
of your hand, I wish that the answer may be as distinct as 
the proposal. I decline the advantage and happiness of 
becoming your wife, sir 

“ Time flies. Miss Eve !” 

“ Time does fly, Mr. Bragg, and, if you remain much 
longer in the employment of Mr. Effingham, you may lose 
an opportunity of advancing your fortunes at the west, 
whither I understand it has long been your intention to 
emigrate ” 

“ I will readily relinquish all my hopes at the west, for 
your sake.” 

“No, sir, I cannot be a party to such a sacrifice. I will 
not say forget me, but forget your hopes here, and renew 
those you have so unreflectingly abandoned beyond the 


HOME AS FOUND. 


343 


Mississippi. I shall not represent this conversation to Mr. 
Effingham in a manner to create any unnecessary preju- 
dices against you ; and while I thank you — as every woman 
should — for an offer that must infer some portion, at least, 
of your good opinion, you will permit me again to wish you 
all lawful success in your western enterprises.” 

Eve gave Mr. Bragg no further opportunity to renew his 
suit ; for she curtsied and left him, as she ceased speaking. 
Mr. Dodge, who had been a distant observer of the inter- 
view, now hastened to join his friend, curious to know the 
result ; for it had been privately arranged between these 
modest youths, that each should try his fortune in turn 
with the heiress, did she not accept the first proposal. To 
the chagrin of Steadfast, and probably to the reader’s sur- 
prise, Aristabulus informed his friend that Eve’s manner and 
language had been full of encouragement. 

“ She thanked me for the offer, Mr. Dodge,” he said, 
“ and her wishes for my future prosperity at the west were 
warm and repeated. Eve Effingham is, indeed, a charming 
creature !” 

“ At the west ! Perhaps she meant differently from 
what you imagine. I know her well. The girl is full of 
art.” 

“ Art, sir ! she spoke as plainly as woman could speak, 
and I repeat that I feel considerably encouraged. It is 
something to have had so plain a conversation with Eve 
Effingham.” 

Mr. Dodge swallowed his discontent, and the whole 
party soon embarked, to return to the village, the commo- 
dore and general taking a boat by themselves, in order to 
bring their discussions on human affairs in general, to a 
suitable close. 

That night Sir George Templemore asked an interview 
with Mr. Effingham, when the latter was alone in his 
library. 


344 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ I sincerely hope this request is not the forerunner of a 
departure,” said the host kindly, as the young man entered, 
“ in which case I shall regard you as one unmindful of the 
hopes he has raised. You stand pledged by implication, if 
not in words, to pass another month with us.” 

“ So far from entertaining an intention so faithless, my 
dear sir, I am fearful that you may think I trespass too far 
on your hospitality.” 

He then communicated his wish to be allowed to make 
Grace Van Cortlandt his wife. Mr. Effingham heard him 
with a smile, that showed he was not altogether unprepared 
for such a demand, and his eye glistened as he squeezed the 
other’s hand. 

“ Take her with all my heart, Sir George,” he said, “ but 
remember, you are transferring a tender plant into a strange 
soil. There are not many of your countrymen to whom I 
would confide such a trust ; for I know the risk they run 
who make ill-assorted unions ” 

“ Ill-assorted unions, Mr. Effingham !” 

“ Yours will not be one, in the ordinary acceptation of the 
term, I know ; for in years, birth, and fortune, you and my 
dear niece are as much on an equality as can be desired : 
but it is too often an ill-assorted union for an American 
woman to become an English wife. So much depends on 
the man, that with one in whom I have less confidence than 
I have in you, I might justly hesitate. I shall take a guar- 
dian’s privilege, though Grace be her own mistress, and 
give you one solemn piece of advice. Always respect the 
country of the woman you have thought worthy to bear 
your name.” 

“ I hope always to respect everything that is hers ; but 
why this particular caution ? Miss Van Cortlandt is almost 
English in her heart.” 

“ An affectionate wife will take her bias in such matters 
generally from her husband. Your country will be her 


HOME AS FOUND. 


345 


coimtry — your God her God. Still, Sir George Templeinore, 
a woman of spirit and sentiment can never wholly forget the 
land of her birth. You love us not in England, and one 
who settles there, will often have occasions to hear gibes 

and sneers on the land from which she came ” 

“ Good God, Mr. Effingham, you do not think I shall take 

my wife into society where ” 

“ Bear with a proser’s doubts, Templemore. You will 
do all that is well-intentioned and proper, I dare say, in the 
usual acceptation of the words ; 'but I wish you to do more : 
that which is wise. Grace has now a sincere reverence and 
respect for England, feelings that in many particulars are 
sustained by the facts, and will be permanent; but, in some 
things, observation, as it usually happens with the young 
and sanguine, will expose the mistakes into which she has 
been led by enthusiasm and the imagination. As she knows 
other countries better, she will come to regard her own with 
more favorable and discriminating eyes, losing her sensitive- 
ness on account of peculiarities she how esteems, and taking 
new views of things. Perhaps you will think me selfish, but 
I shall add, also, that if you wish to cure your wife of any 
homesickness, the surest mode will be to bring her back to 
her native land.” 

“Nay, my dear sir,” said Sir George, laughing, “this 
is very muoh like acknowledging its blemishes.” 

“ I am aware it has that appearance, and yet the fact is 
otherwise. The cure is as certain with the Englishman as 
with the American ; and with the German as wdth either. 
It depends on a general law, which causes us all to over-esti- 
mate bvgone pleasures and distant scenes, and to under- 
value those of the present moment. You know I have 
always maintained there is no real philosopher short of fifty, 
nor any taste worth possessing that is a dozen years old.” 

Here Mr. Effingham rang the bell, and desired Pierre to 
request Miss Van Cortlandt to join him in the library. 

15 ^ 


346 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Grace entered blushing and shy, but with a countenance 
beaming with inward peace. Her uncle regarded her a 
moment intently, and a tear glistened in his eye again, as 
he tenderly kissed her burning cheek. 

“ God bless you, love,” he said — “ ’tis a fearful change 
for your sex, and yet you all enter into it radiant with hope, 
and noble in your confidence. Take her, Templemore,” 
giving her hand to the baronet, “ and deal kindly by her. 
You will not desert us entirely. I trust I shall see you both 
once more in the Wigwam before I die.” 

“ Uncle — uncle — ” burst fi’om Grace, as, drowned in tears, 
she threw herself into Mr. EflBngham’s arms ; “ I am an un- 
grateful girl thus to abandon all my natural friends. I have 
acted wrong ” 

“ Wrong, dearest Miss Van Cortlandt !” 

“ Selfishly, then, Sir George Templemore,” the simple- 
hearted girl ingenuously added, scarcely knowing how much 
her words implied — “ Perhaps this matter might be recon- 
sidered.” 

“ I am afraid little would be gained by that, my love,” 
returned the smiling uncle, wiping his eyes at the same in- 
stant. “ The second thoughts of ladies usually confirm the 
first, in such matters. God bless you, Grace ; — Templemore, 
may heaven have you, too, in its holy keeping. Rem^ber 
what I have said, and to-morrow we will converse further 
on the subject. Does Eve know of this, my niece ?” 

The color went and came rapidly in Grace’s cheek, and 
she looked to the fioor, abashed. 

“We ought then to send for her,” resumed Mr. Effing- 
ham, again reaching towards the bell. 

“ Uncle — ” and Grace hurriedly interposed, in time to 
save the string from being pulled. “ Could I keep such an 
important secret from my dearest cousin !” 

“ I find that I am the last in the secret, as is generally the 
case with old fellows, and I believe I am even now de tropV 


HOME AS FOUND. 


347 


Mr. Effingham kissed Grace again affectionately, and 
although she strenuously endeavored to detain him, he left 
the room. 

“We must follow,” said Grace, hastily wiping her eyes, 
and rubbing the traces of tears from her cheeks — “ Excuse 

me. Sir George Templemore ; will you open ” 

He did, though it was not the door, but his arms. Grace 
seemed like one that was rendered giddy by standing on a 
precipice, but when^ she fell the young baronet was at hand 
to receive her. Instead of quitting the library that instant, 
the bell had announced the appearance of the supper-tray 
before she remembered that she had so earnestly intended 
to do so. 


\ 








348 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


“ This day, no man thinks 
He has business at his house.” 

Kino Henky VIII. 

The warm weather, which was always a little behind that 
of the lower counties, had now set in among the mountains, 
and the season had advanced into the first week in July. 
“ Independence Hay,” as the fourth of that month is termed 
by the Americans, arrived ; and the wits of Templeton were 
taxed as usual, in order that the festival might be celebrated 
with the customary intellectual and moral treat. The morn- 
ing commenced with a parade of the two or three uniformed 
companies of the vicinity, much gingerbread and spruce- 
beer were consumed in the streets, no light potations of 
whiskey were swallowed in the groceries, and a great variety 
of drinks, some of which bore very ambitious names, shared 
the same fate in the taverns. 

Mademoiselle Viefville had been told that this was the 
great American fUe ; the festival of the nation ; and she 
appeared that morning in gay ribands, and with her bright 
animated face covered with smiles for the occasion. To her 
surprise, however, no one seemed to respond to her feelings ; 
and as the party rose from the breakfast-table, she took an 
opportunity to ask an explanation of Eve, in a little “ aside.” 

“ Est-ce que je me suis trompee, ma chere ?” demanded 
the lively Frenchwoman. “ Is not this — la celebration de 
votre independance ?” 

“You are not mistaken, my dear Mademoiselle Viefville, 
and great preparations are made to do it honor. I under-. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


349 


stand there is to be a inilitaiy parade, an oration, a dinner, 
and fireworks.” 

“ Monsieur votre pere ?” 

Monsieur mon pere is not much given to rejoicings, and 
he takes this annual joy, much as a valetudinarian takes his 
morning draught.” 

“ Et Monsieur Jean Effingham ?” 

“ Is always a philosopher ; you are to expect no antics 
from him.” 

“ Mais ces jeunes gens. Monsieur Bragg, Monsieur Dodge, 
et Monsieur Powis meme.” 

“ Se rejouissent en Americains. I presume you are aware 
that Mr. Powis has declared himself to be an American ?” 

Mademoiselle Yiefville looked towards the streets, along 
which divers tall, sombre-looking countrymen, with faces 
more lugubrious than those of the mutes of a funeral, were 
sauntering with a desperate air of enjoyment ; and she shrug- 
ged her shoulders, as she muttered to herself, “ que ces Ame- 
ricains sont droles !” 

At a later hour, however. Eve surprised her father, and 
indeed most of the Americans of the party, by proposing 
that the ladies should walk out into the street, and witness 
the fete. 

“ My child, this is a strange proposition to come from a 
young lady of twenty,” said her father. 

“Why strange, dear sir? — We always mingled in the 
village fetes in Europe.” 

“ Certainement,” cried the delighted Mademoiselle Vief- 
ville ; “ c’est de rigueur, m^me. 

“ And it is de rigueur^ here. Mademoiselle, for young 
ladies to keep out of them,” put in John Effingham. “ I 
should be very sorry to see either of you three ladies in the 
streets of Templeton to-day.” 

“ Why so, cousin Jack ? Have we anything to fear from 
the rudeness of our countrymen ? I have always understood, 


350 


HOME AS FOUND. 


on the contrary, that in no other part of the world is woman 
so uniformly treated with respect and kindness, as in this 
very republic of ours ; and yet, by all these ominous faces, I 
perceive that it will not do for her to trust herself in the 
streets of a village on a festal 

“You are not altogether wrong in what you now say. 
Miss Effingham, nor are you wholly right. Woman, as a 
whole, is well treated in America ; and yet it will not do 
for a lady to mingle in scenes like these, as ladies may and 
do mingle with them in Europe.” 

‘ I have heard this difference accounted for,” said Paul 
Powis, “ by the fact that women have no legal rank in this 
country. In those nations where the station of a lady is 
protected by legal ordinances, it is said she may descend 
with impunity ; but in this, where all are equal before the 
law, so many misunderstand the real merits of their posi- 
tion, that she is obliged to keep aloof from any collisions 
with those who might be disposed to mistake their own 
claims.” 

“ But I wish for no collisions, no associations, Mr. Powis, 
but simply to pass through the streets, with my cousin and 
Mademoiselle Viefville, to enjoy the sight of the rustic sports, 
as one would do in France, or Italy, or even in republican 
Switzerland, if you insist on a republican example.” 

“ Rustic sports !” repeated Aristabulus, with a frightened 
look ; “ the people will not bear to hear their sports called 
rustic. Miss Effingham.” 

“ Surely, sir” — Eve never spoke to Mr. Bragg, now, with- 
out using a repelling politeness — “ surely, sir, the people of 
these mountains will hardly pretend that their sports are 
those of a capital.” 

“ I merely mean, ma’am, that the term would be mon- 
strously unpopular ; nor do I see why the sports in a city” 
— Aristabulus was much too peculiar in his notions to call 
any place that had a mayor and aldermen a town, — “ should 


HOME AS FOUND. 


351 


not be just as rustic as those of a village. The contrary 
supposition violates the principle of equality.” 

“ And do you decide against us, dear sir ?” Eve added, 
looking at Mr. EflSngham. 

“Without stopping to examine causes, my child, I shall 
say that I think you had better all remain at home.” 

“ Voila^ Mademoiselle Viefville^ unefHe AmericaineP' 

A shrug of the shoulders was the significant reply. 

“Nay, my daughter, you are not entirely excluded 
from the festivities; all gallantry has not quite deserted 
the land.” 

“A young lady shall walk alone with a young gentle- 
man — shall ride alone with him — shall drive out alone with 
him — shall not move without him, dans le monde^ mais^ she 
shall not walk in the crowd, to look at une fUe avec son 
pere exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, in her imperfect 
English, “e/e d^sespere^ vraiment, to understand some ha- 
bitudes Amerieaines /” 

“Well, Mademoiselle, that you may not think us alto- 
gether barbarians, you shall, at least, have the benefit of 
the oration.” 

“ You may well call it the oration, Ned ; for I believe 
one, or certainly one skeleton, has served some thousand 
orators annually, any time these sixty years.” 

“ Of this skeleton, then, the ladies shall have the benefit. 
The procession is about to form, I hear ; and by getting 
ready immediately, we shall be just in time to obtain good 
seats.” 

Mademoiselle Viefville was delighted ; for, after trying 
the theatres, the churches, sundry balls, the opera, and all 
the admirable gaieties of New York, she had reluctantly 
come to the conclusion that America was a very good 
country pour s'ennuyer^ and for very little else ; but here 
was the promise of a novelty. The ladies completed their 
preparations, and, accordingly, attended by all the gentle- 


352 


HOME AS FOUND. 


men, made their appearance in the assembly at the ap- 
pointed hour. 

The orator, who, as usual, was a lawyer, was already in 
possession of the pulpit, for one of the village churches had 
been selected as the scene of the ceremonies. He was a 
young man, who had recently been called to the bar, it be- 
ing as much in rule for the legal tyro to take off the wire- 
edge of his wit in a Fourth of July oration, as it was for- 
merly for a mousquetaire to prove his spirit in a duel. The 
academy, which formerly was a servant of all work to the 
public, being equally used for education, balls, preaching, 
town-meetings, and caucuses, had shared the fate of most 
American edifices in wood, having lived its hour and been 
burned ; and the collection of people, whom we have for- 
merly had occasion to describe, appeared to have also va- 
nished from the earth, for nothing could be less alike in 
exterior, at least, than those who had assembled under the 
ministry of Mr. Grant, and their successors, who were now 
collected to listen to the wisdom of Mr. Writ. Such a 
thing as a coat of two generations was no longer to be seen ; 
the latest fashion, or what was thought to be the latest 
fashion, being as rigidly respected by the young farmer or 
the young mechanic, as by the more admitted bucks, the 
law student and the village shop-boy. All the red cloaks 
had long since been laid aside to give place to imitation 
merino shawls, or, in cases of unusual moderation and so- 
briety, to mantles of silk. As Eve glanced her eye around 
her, she perceived Tuscan hats, bonnets of gay colors and 
flowers, and dresses of French chintzes, where fifty , years 
ago would have been seen even men’s woollen hats and 
homely English calicoes. It is true that the change 
among the men was not quite as striking, for their 
attire admits of less variety ; but the black stock had 
superseded the check handkerchief and the bandanna ; 
gloves had taken the places of mittens ; and the coarse 


HOME AS FOUND. 


353 


and clownish shoe of “cow-hide” was supplanted by the 
calf-skin boot. 

“ Where are your peasants, your rustics, your milk and 
dairy maids— the people, in short”— whispered Sir George 
Templemore to Mrs. Bloomfield, as they took their seats ; 
“ or is this occasion thought to be too intellectual for them, 
and the present assembly composed only of the Hite P 

“ These are the people, and a pretty fair sample, too, of 
their appearance and deportment. Most of these men are 
what you in England would call operatives, and the women 
are their wives, daughters, and sisters.” 

The baronet said nothing at the moment, but he sat 
looking around him with a curious eye for some time, when 
he again addressed his companion : 

“ I see the truth of what you say, as regards the men, for 
a critical eye can discover the proofs of their occupations ; 
but surely you must be mistaken as respects your own sex ; 
there is too much delicacy of form and feature for the class 
you mean.” 

“ Nevertheless, I have said naught but truth.” 

“ But look at the hands and feet, dear Mrs. Bloomfield. 
Those are French gloves, too, or I am mistaken.” 

“ I will not positively affirm that the French gloves actu- 
ally belong to the dairy-maids, though I have known even 
this prodigy ; but, rely on it, you see here the proper female 
counterparts of the men, and singularly delicate and pretty 
females are they, for persons of their class. This is what 
you call democratic coarseness and vulgarity. Miss Effing- 
ham tells me, in England.” 

Sir George smiled, but, as what it is the fashion of the 
country to call “ the exercises” just then began, he made 
no other answer. 

The exercises commenced with instrumental music, cer- 
tainly the weakest side of American civilization. That of 
the occasion of which we write, had three essential faults. 


354 


HOME AS FOUND. 


all of which are sufficiently general to be termed eharac- 
teristic, in a national point of view. In the first place, the 
instruments themselves were bad ; in the next place, they 
were assorted without any regard to harmony ; and in the 
last place, their owners did not know how to use them. As 
in certain American cities — the word is well applied here — 
she is esteemed the greatest belle who ean contrive to utter 
her nursery sentiments in the loudest voice, so in Temple- 
ton was he considered the ablest musician who could give 
the greatest eclat to a false note. In a word, clamor was 
the one thing needful, and as regards time, that great regu- 
lator of all harmonies, Paul Powis whispered to the captain 
that the air they had just been listening to, resembled what 
the sailors call a “ round-robin,” or a particular mode of 
signing complaints practised by seamen, in which the nicest 
observer cannot tell which is the beginning or which the 
end. 

It required all the Parisian breeding of Mademoiselle 
Viefville to preserve her gravity during this overture, though 
she kept her bright, animated. French-looking eyes roaming 
over the assembly, with an air of delight that, as Mr. Bragg 
would say, made her very popular. No one else in the 
party from theWigwam, Captain Truck excepted, dared look 
up, but each kept his or her eyes riveted on the floor, as if 
in silent enjoyment of the harmonies. As for the honest 
old seaman, there was as much melody in the howling of a 
gale to his unsophisticated ears as in anything else, and he 
saw no difference between this feat of the Templeton band 
and the sighing of old Boreas ; and, to say the truth, our 
nautical critic was not much out of the way. 

Of the oration it is scarcely necessary to say much, for 
if human nature is the same in all ages, and under all cir- 
cumstances, so is a Fourth of July oration. There were the 
usual allusions to Greece and Rome, between the republics 
of which and that of this country there exists some such 


HOME AS FOUND. 


355 


affinity as is to be found between a horse-chestnut and a 
chestnut-horse, or that of mere words ; and a long catalogue 
of national glories that might very well have sufficed for all 
the republics, both of antiquity and of our own time. But 
when the orator came to speak of the American character, 
and particularly of the intelligence of the nation, he was 
most felicitous, and made the largest investments in popu- 
larity. According to his account of the matter, no other 
people possessed a tithe of the knowledge, or a hundredth 
part of the honesty and virtue of the very community he 
was addressing ; and after laboring for ten minutes to con- 
vince his hearers that they already knew everything, he 
wasted several more in trying to persuade them to under- 
take further acquisitions of the same nature. 

“ How much better all this might be made,” said Paul 
Powis, as the party returned towards the Wigwam when the 
“ exercises” were ended, “ by substituting a little plain in- 
struction on the real nature and obligations of the institutions, 
for so much unmeaning rhapsody. Nothing has struck me 
with more surprise and pain than to find how far, or it might 
be better to say how high, ignorance reaches on such sub- 
jects, and how few men, in a country where all depends on 
the institutions, have clear notions concerning their own 
condition.” 

“ Certainly this is not the opinion we usually entertain of 
ourselves,” observed John Effingham. “ And yet it ought 
to be. I am far from underrating the ordinary information 
of the country, which, as an average information, is superior 
to that of almost every other people ; nor am I one of those 
who, according to the popular European notion, fancy the 
Americans less gifted than common in intellect ; there can 
be but one truth in anything, however, and it falls to the 
lot of very few, anywhere, to master it. The Americans, 
moreover, are a people of facts and practices, paying but 
little attention to principles, and giving themselves the very 


356 


HOME AS FOUND. 


minimum of time for investigations that lie beyond the 
reach of the common mind ; and it follows that they know 
little of that which does not present itself in their every-day 
transactions. As regards the practice of the institutions, it 
is regulated here, as elsewhere, by party, and party is never 
an honest or a disinterested expounder.” 

“Are you then more than in the common dilemma,” 
asked Sir George, “ or worse off than your neighbors ? ” 

“We are worse off than our neighbors, for the simple 
reason that it is the intention of the American system, 
which has been deliberately framed, and which is moreover 
the result of a bargain, to carry out its theory in practice ; 
whereas, in countries where the institutions are the results 
of time and accidents, improvement is only obtained by in- 
novations. Party invariably assails and weakens power. 
When power is in the possession of a few, the many gain 
by party ; but when power is the legal right of the many, 
the few gain by party. Now as party has no ally as strong 
as ignorance and prejudice, a right understanding of the 
principles of a government is of far more importance in a 
popular government than in any other. In place of the 
eternal eulogies on facts, that one hears on all public oc- 
casions in this country, I would substitute some plain and 
clear expositions of principles ; or, indeed, I might say, of 
facts as they are connected with principles.” 

“ Mais, la musique. Monsieur,” interrupted Mademoiselle 
Viefville, in a way so droll as to raise a general smile, 
“ qu’en pensez-vous ? ” 

“ That it is music, my dear Mademoiselle, in neither fact 
nor principle.” 

“ It only proves that a people can be free, Mademoiselle,” 
observed Mrs. Bloomfield, “ and enjoy Fourth of July ora- 
tions, without having very correct notions of hannony or 
time. But do our rejoicings end here, Miss Efiingham ? ” 

“ Not at all — there is still something in reserve for the 


HOME AS FOUND. 


357 


day, and all who honor it. I am told the evening, which 
promises to he sufficiently sombre, is to terminate with a 
fete that is peculiar to Templeton, and which is called, 
‘ The Fun of Fire.’ ” 

“It is an ominous name, and ought to be a brilliant 
ceremony.” 

As this was uttered, the whole party entered the Wig- 
wam. 

“ The Fun of Fire” took place, as a matter of course, at 
a late hour. When night had set in, everybody appeared 
in the main street of the village, a part of which, from its 
width and form, was particularly adapted to the sports of 
the evening. The females were mostly at the windows, or 
on such elevated stands as favored their view, and the party 
from the Wigwam occupied a large balcony that topped the 
piazza of one of the principal inns of the place. 

The sports of the night commenced with rockets, of which 
a few, that did as much credit to the climate as to the state 
of the pyrotechnics of the village, were thrown up, as soon 
as the darkness had become sufficiently dense to lend them 
brilliancy. Then followed wheels, crackers, and serpents, 
all of the most primitive kind, if, indeed, there be anything 
primitive in such amusement. The “ Fun of Fire” was to 
close the rejoicings, and it was certainly worth all the sports 
of that day united, the gingerbread and spruce beer in- 
cluded. 

A blazing ball cast from a shop-door was the signal for the 
commencement of the Fun. It was merely a ball of rope- 
yarn, or of some other material saturated with turpentine, 
and it burned with a bright, fierce flame until consumed. 
As the first of these fiery meteors sailed into the street, a 
common shout from the boys, apprentices, and young men, 
proclaimed that the fun was at hand. It was followed by 
several more, and in a few minutes the entire area was 
gleaming with glancing light. The whole of the amuse- 


358 


home as found. 


meut consisted in tossing the fire-balls with boldness, and in 
avoiding them with dexterity, something like competition 
soon entering into the business of the scene. 

The effect was singularly beautiful. Groups of dark ob- 
jects became suddenly illuminated, and here a portion of 
the throng might be seen beneath a brightness like that pro- 
duced by a bonfire, while all the background of persons 
and faces were gliding about in a darkness that almost 
swallowed up a human figure. Suddenly all this w^ould be 
changed ; the brightness would pass away, and a ball alight- 
ing in a spot that had seemed abandoned to gloom, it would 
be found peopled with merry countenances and active forms. 
The constant changes from brightness to deep darkness, with 
all the varying gleams of light and shadow, made the beauty 
of the scene, which soon extorted admiration from all in 
the balcony. 

“ Mais, c’est charmant !” exclaimed Mademoiselle Vief- 
ville, who was enchanted at discovering something like 
gaiety and pleasure among the “ tristes Americams^' and 
who had never even suspected them of being capable of so 
much apparent enjoyment. 

“ These are the prettiest village sports I have ever wit- 
nessed,” said Eve, “though a little dangerous, one would 
think. There is something refreshing, as the magazine 
writers term it, to find one of these miniature towns of ours 
condescending to be gay and happy in a village fashion. If I 
were to bring my strongest objection to American country 
life, it would be its ambitious desire to ape the towns, con- 
verting the ease and abandon of a village into the formality 
and stiffness that render children in the clothes of grown 
people so absurdly ludicrous.” 

“What!” exclaimed John Efiingham; “do you fancy it 
possible to reduce a freeman so low, as to deprive him of 
his stilts ! No, no, young lady ; you are now in a country 
where, if you have two rows of flounces on your frock, your 


HOME AS POUND. 


359 


maid will make it a point to have three, by way of main- 
taining the equilibrium. This is the noble ambition of 
liberty.” 

“Annette’s foible is a love of flounces, cousin Jack, and 
you have drawn that image from your eye instead of your 
imagination. It is a French as well as an American ambi- 
tion, if ambition it be.” 

“ Let it be drawn whence it may, it is true. Have you 
not remarked. Sir George Templemore, that the Americans 
will not even bear the ascendency of a capital ? Formerly, 
Philadelphia, then the largest town in the country, was the 
political capital ; but it was too much for any one commu- 
nity to enjoy the united consideration that belongs to extent 
and politics; and so the honest public went to work to 
make a capital, that should have nothing else in its favor 
but the naked fact that it was the seat of government, and 
I think it will be generally allowed that they have suc- 
ceeded to admiration. I fancy Mr. Dodge will admit that 
it would be quite intolerable, that country should not be 
town, and town, country.” 

“ This is a land of equal rights, Mr. John Effingham, and 
I confess that I see no claim that New York possesses, 
which does not equally belong to Templeton.” 

“Do you hold, sir,” inquired Captain Truck, “that a 
ship is a brig, and a brig a ship.” 

“ The case is different ; Templeton is a town, is it not, 
Mr. John Effingham ?” 

“ A town, Mr. Dodge, but not town. The difference is 
essential.” 

“ I do not see it, sir. Now, New York, to my notion, is 
not a town, but a city.” 

“ Ah ! This is the critical acumen of the editor ! But 
you should be indulgent, Mr. Dodge, to us laymen, who 
pick up our phrases by merely wandering about the world, 
or in the nursery perhaps ; while you, of the favored few, by 


360 


HOME AS FOUND 


living in the condensation of a province, obtain a precision 
and accuracy to which we can lay no claim.” 

The darkness prevented the editor ipf the Active Inquirer 
from detecting the general smile, and he remained in happy 
ignorance of the feeling that produced it. To say the truth, 
not the smallest of the besetting vices of Mr. Dodge had their 
foundation in a provincial education and in provincial notions 5 
the invariable tendency of both being to persuade their sub- 
ject that he is always right, while all opposed to him in 
opinion are wrong. That well known line of Pope, in which 
the poet asks, “ what can we reason, but from what we know ?” 
contains the principles of half our foibles and faults, and per- 
haps explains fully that proportion of those of Mr. Dodge, 
to say nothing of those of no small number of his country- 
men. There are limits to the knowledge, and tastes, and 
habits of every man, and, as each is regulated by the oppor- 
tunities of the individual, it follows of necessity, that no 
one can have a standard much above his own experience. 
That an isolated and remote people should be a provincial 
people, or, in other words, a people of narrow and peculiar 
practices and opinions, is as unavoidable as that study 
should make a scholar ; though in the case of America, the 
great motive for surprise is to be found in the fact that 
causes so very obvious should produce so little effect. When 
compared with the bulk of other nations, the Americans, 
though so remote and insulated, are scarcely provincial, for 
it is only when the highest standard of this nation is com- 
pared with the highest standard of other nations, that we 
detect the great deficiency that actually exists. That a 
moral foundation so broad should uphold a moral superstruc- 
ture so narrow, is owing to the circumstance that the popu- 
lar sentiment rules, and as everything is referred to a body of 
judges that, in the nature of things, must be of very limited 
and superficial attainments, it cannot be a matter of wonder 
to the reflecting, that the decision shares in the qualities of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


361 


the tribunal. In America, the gross mistake has been made 
of supposing, that, because the mass rules in a political 
sense, it has a right to be listened to and obeyed in all other 
matters — a practical deduction that can only lead, under the 
most favorable exercise of power, to a very humble medi- 
ocrity. It is to be hoped that time, and a greater concentra- 
tion of taste, liberality, and knowledge than can well distin- 
guish a young and scattered population, will repair this evil, 
and that our children will reap the harvest of the broad 
fields of intelligence that have been sown by ourselves. In 
the meantime, the present generation must endure that 
which cannot easily be cured ; and among its other evils, it 
will have to submit to a great deal of very questionable in- 
formation, not a few false principles, and an unpleasant 
degree of intolerant and narrow bigotry, that are propa- 
gated by such apostles of liberty and learning as Steadfast 
Dodge, Esquire. 

We have written in vain, if it now be necessary to point 
out a multitude of things in which that professed instructor 
and Mentor of the public, the editor of the Active Inquirer, 
had made a false estimate of himself, as well as of his fellow- 
creatures. That such a man should be ignorant, is to be 
expected, as he had never been instructed ; that he was self- 
sufficient was owing to his ignorance, which oftener induces 
vanity than modesty ; that he was intolerant and bigoted, 
follows as a legitimate effect of his provincial and contract- 
ed habits ; that he was a hypocrite, came from his homage 
of the people ; and that one thus constituted, should be per- 
mitted periodically to pour out his vapidity, folly, malice, 
envy, and ignorance, on his fellow-creatures, in the columns 
of a newspaper, was owing to a state of society in which 
the truth of the wholesome adage, “that what is every 
man’s business is nobody’s business,” is exemplified not only 
daily, but hourly, in a hundred other interests of equal 
magnitude, as well as to a capital mistake, that leads the 
16 


362 


HOME AS FOUND. 


community to fancy that whatever is done in their name, is 
done for their good. 

As the “ Fun of Fire” had, by this time, exhibited most 
of its beauties, the party belonging to the Wigwam left the 
balcony, and, the evening proving mild, they walked into 
the grounds of the building, where they naturally broke 
into groups, conversing on the incidents of the day, or of 
such other matters as came uppermost. Occasionally, 
gleams of light were thrown across them from a fire-ball ; 
or a rocket’s starry train was still seen drawn in the air, 
resembling the wake of a ship at night, as it wades through 
the ocean. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


363 


CHAPTER XXII. 

“ Gentle Octavia, 

Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks 
But to preserve it.” 

Antony and Cleopatra. 

We shall not say it was an accident that brought Paul 
and Eve side by side, and a little separated from the others ; 
for a secret sympathy had certainly exercised its influence 
over both, and probably contributed as much as anything 
else towards bringing about the circumstance. Although 
the Wigwam stood in the centre of the village, its grounds 
covered several acres, and were intersected with winding 
walks, and ornamented with shrubbery, in the well known 
English style, improvements also of John Effingham ; for, 
while the climate and forests of America offer so many 
inducements to encourage landscape gardening, it is the 
branch of art that, of all the other ornamental arts, is per- 
haps the least known in this country. It is true time had 
not yet brought the labors of the projector to perfection, in 
this instance ; but enough had been done to afford very 
extensive, varied, and pleasing walks. The grounds were 
broken, and John Effingham had turned the irregularities 
to good account, by planting and leading paths among them, 
to the great amusement of the lookers-on, however, who, 
like true disciples of the Manhattanese economy, had 
already begun to calculate the cost of what they termed 
grading the lawns, it being with them as much a matter of 
course to bring pleasure grounds down to a mathematical 
surface, as to bring a railroad route down to the proper level. 


364 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Through these paths, and among the irregularities, groves, 
and shrubberies just mentioned, the party began to stroll ; 
one group taking a direction eastward, another south, and a 
third westward, in a way soon to break them up into five or 
six different divisions. These several portions of the com- 
pany ere long got to move in opposite directions, by taking 
the various paths, and while they frequently met, they did 
not often re-unite. As has been already intimated, Eve and 
Paul were alone, for the first time in their lives, under cir- 
cumstances that admitted of an uninterrupted confidential 
conversation. Instead of profiting immediately, however, 
by this unusual occurrence, as many of our readers may 
anticipate, the young man continued the discourse in which 
the whole party had been engaged when they entered the 
gate that communicated with the street. 

“ I know not whether you felt the same embarrassment 
as myself, to-day. Miss Effingham,” he said, “ when the ora- 
tor was dilating on the glories of the republic, and on the 
high honors that accompany the American name. Cer- 
tainly, though a pretty extensive traveller, I have never yet 
been able to discover that it is any advantage abroad to be 
one of the ‘ fourteen millions of freemen.’ ” 

“ Are we to attribute the mystery that so long hung 
over your birth-place to this fact?’’ Eve asked, a little 
pointedly. 

“ If I have made any seeming mystery as to the place of 
my birth, it has been involuntary on my part. Miss Efiing- 
ham, so far as you at least have been concerned. I may 
not have thought myself authorized to introduce my own 
history into our little discussions, but I am not conscious of 
aiming at any unusual concealments. At Vienna, and in 
Switzerland, we met as travellers ; and now that you appear 
disposed to accuse me of concealment, I may retort, and say 
that neither you nor your father ever expressly stated in iny 
presence that you were Americans.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


365 


“ Was that necessary, Mr. Powis ?” 

“ Perhaps not ; and I am wrong to draw a comparison 
between my own insignificance, and the eclat that attended 
you and your movements.” 

“Nay,” interrupted Eve, “do not misconceive me. My 
father felt an interest in you, quite naturally, after what had 
occurred on the lake of Lucerne, and I believe lie was 
desirous of making you out a countryman, — a pleasure that 
he has at length received.” 

“ To own the truth, I was never quite certain, until my 
last visit to England, on which side of the Atlantic I was 
actually born, and to this uncertainty, perhaps, may be 
attributed some of that cosmopolitism to which I made so 
many high pretensions in our late passage.” 

“ Not know where you were born !” exclaimed Eve, with 
an involuntary haste, that she immediately repented. 

“This, no doubt, sounds odd to you. Miss Effingham, 
who have always been the pride and solace of a most affec- 
tionate father, but it has never been my good fortune to 
know either parent. My mother, who was the sister of 
Ducie’s mother, died at my birth, and the loss of my father 
even preceded hers. I may be said to have been born an 
orphan.” 

Eve, for the first time in her life, had taken his arm, and 
the young man felt the gentle pressure of her little hand, as 
she permitted this expression of sympathy to escape her, at 
a moment she found so intensely interesting to herself. 

“ It was, indeed, a misfortune, Mr. Powis, and I fear you 
were put into the navy through the want of those who 
would feel a natural concern in your welfare.” 

“ The navy was my own choice ; partly, I think, from a 
certain love of adventure, and quite as much, perhaps, with 
a wish to settle the question of my birthplace, practically at 
least, by enlisting in the service of the one that I first knew, 
and certainly best loved,” 


366 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ But of that birth-place, I understand there is now no 
doubt ?” said Eve, with more interest than she was herself 
conscious of betraying. 

“ None whatever. I am a native of Philadelphia. That 
point was conclusively settled in my late visit to my aunt. 
Lady Dunluce, who was present at my birth.” 

“ Is Lady Dunluce also an American ?” 

“ She is ; never having quitted the country until after her 
marriage to Colonel Ducie. She was a younger sister of 
my mother’s, and, notwithstanding some jealousies and a 
little coldness that I trust have now disappeared, I am of 
opinion she loved her ; though one can hardly answer for 
the durability of the family ties in a country where the 
institutions and habits are as artificial as in England.” 

“ Do you think there is less family affection, then, in 
England than in America ?” 

“ I will not exactly say as much, though I am of opinion 
that neither country is remarkable in that way. In England, 
among the higher classes, it is impossible that the feelings 
should not be weakened by so many adverse interests. 
When a brother knows that nothing stands between him- 
self and rank and wealth, but the claims of one who was 
born a twelvemonth earlier than himself, he gets to feel 
more like a rival than a kinsman, and the temptation to 
envy or dislike, or even hatred, sometimes becomes stronger 
than the duty to love.” 

And yet the English themselves say that the services 
rendered by the elder to the younger brother, and the 
gratitude of the younger to the elder, are so many addi- 
tional ties.” 

“ It would be contrary to all the known laws of feeling, 
and all experience, if this were so. The younger applies 
to the elder for aid in preference to a stranger, because he 
thinks he has a claim ; and what man who fancies he has a 
claim, is disposed to believe justice is fully done him ; or Avho 


HOME AS FOUND. 


367 


that is required to discharge a duty, imagines he has not 
done more than could be properly asked ?” 

“ I fear your opinion of men is none of the best, Mr. 
Powis ! ” 

“ There may be exceptions, but such I believe to be the 
common fate, of humanity. The moment a duty is created, 
a disposition to think it easily discharged follows ; and of all 
sentiments that of a continued and exacting gratitude is the 
most oppressive. I fear more brothers are aided through 
family pride, than through natural affection.” 

“ What, then, loosens the tie among ourselves, where no 
law of primogeniture exists ? ” 

“That which loosens everything. A love of change 
that has grown up with the migratory habits of the people ; 
and which, perhaps, is in some measure fostered by the in- 
stitutions. Here is Mr. Bragg to confirm what I say, and 
we may hear his sentiments on this subject.” 

As Aristabulus, with whom walked Mr. Dodge, just at 
that moment came out of the shrubbery, and took the same 
direction with themselves, Powis put the question, as one 
addresses an acquaintance in a room. 

“ Rotation in feelings, sir,” returned Mr. Bragg, “ is human 
nature, as rotation in office is natural justice. Some of our 
people are of opinion that it might be useful could the 
whole of society be made periodically to change places, in 
order that every one might know how his neighbor lives.” 

“ You are then an Agrarian, Mr. Bragg ? ” 

“ As far from it as possible ; nor do I believe you will 
find such an animal in this county. Where property is con- 
cerned, we are a people that never let go so long as we can 
hold on, sir ; but beyond this, we like lively changes. Now 
Miss Effingham, everybody thinks frequent changes of 
religious instructors, in particular, necessary. There can be 
no vital piety without keeping the flame alive with excite- 
ment.” 


3C8 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ I confess, sir, that my own reasoning would lead to a 
directly contrary conclusion, and that there can he no vital 
piety, as you term it, with excitement.” 

Mr. Bragg looked at Mr. Dodge, and Mr. Dodge looked 
at Mr. Bragg. Then each shrugged his shoulders, and the 
former continued the discourse. ♦ 

“ That may be the case in France, Miss Effingham,” he 
said, “ but in America we look to excitement as the great 
purifier. We should as soon expect the air in the bottom 
of a well to be elastic, as that the moral atmosphere shall be 
clear and salutary without the breezes of excitement. For 
my part, Mr. Dodge, I think no man should be a judge in the 
same court more than ten years at a time, and a priest gets 
to be rather common-place and flat after five. There are 
men who may hold out a little longer, I acknowledge ; but to 
keep real, vital, soul-saving regeneration stirring, a change 
should take place as often as once in five years in a parish ; 
that is my opinion at least.” 

“ But, sir,” rejoined Eve, “ as the laws of religion are im- 
mutable, the modes by which it is known universal, and the 
promises, mediation, and obligations are everywhere the same, 
I do not see what you propose to gain by so many changes.” 

“ Why, Miss Effingham, we change the dishes at table, and 
no family of my acquaintance more than this of your 
honorable father’s ; and I am surprised to find you opposed 
to the system.” 

“ Our religion, sir,” answered Eve, gravely, “ is a duty, and 
rests on revelation and obedience ; while our diet may very 
innocently be a matter of mere taste, or even of caprice, if 
you will.” 

“Well, I confess I see no great difference, the main 
object in this life being to stir people up, and to go ahead. 
I presume you know, Miss Eve, that many people think that 
we ought to change our own parson, if we expect a blessing 
on the congregation.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


369 


“ I should sooner expect a curse would follow an act of so 
much heartlessness, sir. Our clergyman has been with us 
since his entrance into the duties of his holy office, and it 
will be difficult to suppose that the Divine favor w'ould follow 
the commission of so selfish and capricious a step, with a 
motive no better than the desire for novelty.” 

“You quite mistake the object. Miss Eve, which is to stir 
the people up ; a hopeless thing, I fear, so long as they 
always sit under the same preaching.” 

“I have been taught to believe that piety is increased, 
Mr. Bragg, by the aid of the Holy Spirit’s sustaining and sup- 
porting us in our good desires ; and I cannot persuade myself 
that the Deity finds it necessary to save a soul by the means 
of any of those human agencies by which men sack towns, 
turn an election, or incite a mob. I hear that extraordi- 
nary scenes are witnessed in this country in some of the 
other sects ; but I trust never to see the day, when the 
apostolic, reverend, and sober church, in which I have been 
nurtured, shall attempt to advance the workings of that 
Divine power by a profane, human hurrah.” 

All this was Greek to Messrs. Dodge and Bragg, who, in 
furthering their objects, were so accustomed to “ stirring 
people up,” that they had quite forgotten that the more a 
man was in “ an excitement,” the less he had to do with 
reason. The exaggerated religious sects which first peopled 
America, have had a strong influence in transmitting to their 
posterity false notions on such subjects ; for while the old 
world is accustomed to see Christianity used as an ally of 
government, and perverted from its one great end to be the 
instrument of ambition, cupidity, and selfishness, the new 
world has been fated to witness the reaction of such abuses, 
and to run into nearly as many errors in the opposite ex- 
treme. The two persons just mentioned had been educated 
in the provincial school of religious notions that is so much 
in favor in a portion of this country ; and they were strik- 
16 * 


370 


HOME AS FOUND 


ing examples of the truth of the adage, that “ what is bred 
in the bone will he seen in the flesh,” for their common 
character, common in this particular at least, was a queer 
mixture of the most narrow superstitions and prejudices, 
that existed under the garb of religious training, and of un- 
justifiable frauds, meannesses, and even vices. Mr. Bragg 
was a better man than Mr. Dodge, for he had more self- 
reliance, and was more manly ; but on the score of religion, 
he had the same contradictory excesses, and there was a 
common point in the way of vulgar vice, towards which 
each tended, simply for the want of breeding and tastes, as 
infallibly as the needle points to the pole. Cards were often 
introduced in Mr. Effingham’s drawing-room, and there was 
one apartment expressly devoted to a billiard-table ; and 
many was the secret fling and biting gibe, that these pious 
devotees passed between themselves, on the subject of so 
flagrant an instance of immorality in a family of so high 
moral pretensions ; the two worthies not unfrequently con- 
cluding their comments by repairing to some secret room in 
a tavern, where, after carefully locking the door, and draw- 
ing the curtains, they would order brandy, and pass a refresh- 
ing hour in endeavoring to relieve each other of the labor 
of carrying their odd sixpences, by means of little shoe- 
maker’s loo. 

On the present occasion, however, the earnestness of Eve 
produced a pacifying effect on their consciences, for as our 
heroine never raised her sweet voice above the tones of a 
gentlewoman, its very mildness and softness gave force to 
her expressions. Had John Eflfngham uttered the senti- 
ments to which they had just listened, it is probable Mr. 
Bragg would have attempted an answer ; but under the cir- 
cumstances, he preferred making his bow and diverging into 
the first path that offered, followed by his companion. Eve 
and Paul continued their circuit of the grounds, as if no in- 
terruption had taken place. 


HOME AS POUND. 


S'?! 

“ This disposition to change is getting to he universal 
in the country,” remarked the latter, as soon as Arista- 
bulus and his friend had left them, “ and I consider it one 
of the worst signs of the times ; more especially since it has 
become so common to connect it with what it is the fashion 
to call excitement.” 

“ To return to the subject which these gentlemen inter- 
rupted,” said Eve, “ that of the family ties ; I have always 
heard England quoted as one of the strongest instances of 
a nation in which this tie is slight, beyond its aristocratical 
influence ; and I should be sorry to suppose that we are fol- 
lowing in the footsteps of our good-mother, in this respect 
at least.” 

“ Has Mademoiselle Viefville never made any remark on 
this subject ?” 

“Mademoiselle Viefville, though observant, is discreet. 
That she believes the standard of the affections as high in 
this as in her own country, I do not think ; for, like most 
Europeans, she considers the Americans to be a passionless 
people, who are more bound up in the interests of gain than 
in any other of the concerns of life.” 

“ She does not know us !” said Paul, so earnestly as to 
cause Eve to start at the deep energy with which he spoke. 
“ The passions lie as deep, and run in currents as strong 
here as in any other part of the world, though there not 
being as many factitious causes to dam them, they less sel- 
dom break through the bounds of propriety.” 

For near a mtnute the two paced the walk in silence, and 
Eve began to wish that some one of the party would again 
join them, that a conversation which she felt was getting 
to be awkward, might be interrupted. But no one crossed 
their path again, and without rudeness or affectation, she 
saw no means of effecting her object. Paul was too much 
occupied with his own feelings to observe his companion’s 
embarrassment, and, after the short pause mentioned, he 


372 


HOME AS FOUND. 


naturally pursued the subject, though in a less emphatic 
manner than before. 

“ It was an old and a favorite theory with the Europe- 
ans,” he said, with a sort of bitter irony, “that all the 
animals of this hemisphere have less gifted natures than 
those of the other ; nor is it a theory of which they are yet 
entirely rid. The Indian was supposed to be passionless, 
because he had self-command ; and what in the European 
would be thought exhibiting the feelings of a noble nature 
in him, has been represented as ferocity and revenge. Miss 
Effingham, you and I have seen Europe, have stood in the 
presence of its wisest, its noblest, and its best ; and what have 
they to boast beyond the immediate results of their facti- 
tious- and labored political systems, that is denied to the 
American — or rather would be denied to the American, had 
the latter the manliness and mental independence to be 
equal to his fortunes ?” 

“ "VVTiich you think he is not.” 

“ How can a people be even independent that imports its 
thoughts as it does its wares, that has not the spirit to in- 
vent even its own prejudices ?” 

“ Something should be allowed to habit and to the influ- 
ence of time. England herself, probably, has inherited some 
of her false notions from the Saxons and Normans.” 

“ That is not only possible, but probable ; but England, 
in thinking of Russia, France, Turkey, or Egypt, when in- 
duced to think wrong, yields to an English, and not to an 
American, interest. Her errors are at least requited, in a 
degree, by serving her own ends, whereas ours are made 
too often to oppose our most obvious interests. We are 
never independent unless when stimulated by some strong 
and pressing moneyed concern, and not often then beyond 

the plainest of its effects. Here is one, apparently, who 

does not belong to our party.” 

Paul interrupted himself, in consequence of their meeting 


HOME AS FOUND. 


373 


a stranger in the walk, who moved with the indecision of 
one uncertain whether to advance or to recede. Rockets 
frequently fell into the grounds, and there had been one or 
two inroads of boys, which had been tolerated on account of 
the occasion ; but this intruder was a man in the decline of 
life, of the condition of a warm tradesman seemingly, and he 
clearly had no connexion with sky-rockets, as his eyes were 
turned inquiringly on the persons of those who passed him 
from time to time, none of whom had he stopped, however, 
until he now placed himself before Paul and Eve, in a way 
to denote a desire to speak. 

“ The young people are making a merry night of it,” he 
said, keeping a hand in each coat-pocket, while he uncere- 
moniously occupied the centre of the narrow walk, as if 
determined to compel a parley. 

Although sufficiently acquainted with the unceremonious 
habits of the people of the country to feel no surprise at this 
intrusion, Paul was vexed at having his tete-a-tete with Eve 
so rudely broken ; and he answered with more of the hauteur 
of the quarter-deck than he might otherwise have done, by 
saying coldly — 

“ Perhaps, sir, it is your wish to see Mr. Effingham — or 
— ” hesitating an instant, as he scanned the stranger’s ap- 
pearance — “ some of his people. The first will soon pass 
this spot, and you will find most of the latter on the lawn, 
watching the rockets.” 

The man regarded Paul a moment, and then he removed 
his hat respectfully. 

“ Please, sir, can you inform me if a gentleman called 
Captain Truck — one that sails the packets between New 
York and England, is staying at the Wigwam at present.” 

Paul told him that the captain was walking with Mr. Ef- 
fingham, and that the next pair that approached would be 
they. The stranger fell back, keeping his hat respectfully 
in his hand, and the two passed. 


374 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ That man has been an English serv^ant, but has been a 
little spoiled by the reaction of an excessive liberty to do as 
he pleases. The ‘ please, sir,’ and the attitude, can hardly 
be mistaken, while the nonchalance of his manner d nous 
ahorder^ sufficiently betrays the second edition of his educa- 
tion.” 

“ I am curious to know what this person can want with 
our excellent captain — it can scarcely be one of the Mon- 
tauk’s crew !” 

“ I will answer for it, that the fellow has not enough sea- 
manship about him to whip a rope,” said Paul, laughing ; 
“ for if there be two temporal pursuits that have less affinity 
than any two others, they are those of the pantry and the 
tar-bucket. I think it will be seen that this man has been 
an English servant, and he has probably been a passenger 
on board some ship commanded by our honest old 
friend.” 

Eve and Paul now turned, and they met Mr. Effingham 
and the captain just as the two latter reached the spot where 
the stranger still stood. 

“ This is Captain Truck, the gentleman for whom you in- 
quired,” said Paul. 

The stranger looked hard at the captain, and the captain 
looked hard at the stranger, the obscurity rendering a pretty 
close scrutiny necessary, to enable either to distinguish fea- 
tures. The examination seemed to be mutually unsatisfac- 
tory, for each retired a little, like a man who had not found 
a face that he knew. 

“ There must be two Captain Trucks, then, in the 
trade,” said the stranger; “this is not the gentleman I 
used to know.” 

“ I think you are as right in the latter part of your re- 
mark, friend, as you are wrong in the first,” returned the 
captain. “ Know you, I do not ; and yet there are no more 
two Captain Trucks in the English trade than there are two 


HOME AS FOUND. 


3*75 


Miss Eve Effiiighams or two Mrs. Hawkers in the universe. 
I am John Truck, and no other man of that name ever sailed 
a ship between New York and England, in my day at 
least.” 

“ Hid you ever command the Hawn, sir ?” 

“ The Hawn ! That I did ; and the Regulus, and the 
Manhattan, and the Wilful Girl, and the Heborah-Angelina, 
and the Sukey and Katy, which, my dear young lady, I 
may say, was my first love. She was only a fore-and-after, 
carrying no standing topsail even, and we named her after 
two of the river girls, who were flyers in their way ; at 
least I thought so, then ; though a man by sailing a packet 
comes to alter his notions about men and things, or, for that 
matter, about women and things too. I got into a cate- 
gory in that schooner that I never expect to see equalled ; 
for I was driven ashore to windward in her, which is gib- 
berish to you, my dear young lady, but which Mr. Powis 
will very well understand, though he may not he able to 
explain it.” 

“ I certainly know what you mean,” said Paul, “ though 
I confess I am in a category, as well as the schooner, so far 
as knowing how it could have happened.” 

“ The Sukey and Katy ran away with me, that’s the up- 
shot of it. Since that time I have never consented to com- 
mand a vessel that was called after two of our river young 
women, for I do believe that one of them is as much as a 
common mariner can manage. You see, Mr. Effingham, 
we were running along a weather-shore, as close in as we 
could get, to be in the eddy, when a squall struck her 
a-beam, and she luffed right on to the beach. No helping 
it. Helm hard up, peak down, head sheets to windward, 
and main sheet flying, but it was all too late ; away she 
went plump ashore to windward. But for that accident I 
think I might have married.” 

“And what connexion could you find between matri- 


376 


HOME AS FOUND. 


mony and this accident, captain ?” demanded the laughing 
Eve. 

“ There was an admonition in it, my dear young lady, 
that I thought was not to be disregarded. I tried the Wil- 
ful Girl next, and she was thrown on her beam-ends with 
me ; after which I renounced all female names, and took to 
the Egyptian.” 

“ The Egyptian !” 

“ Certainly, Regulus, who was a great snake-killer, they 
tell me, in that part of the world. But I never saw my 
Avay quite clear as bachelor until I got the Dawn. Did 
you know that ship, friend ?” 

“ I believe, sir, I made two passages in her while you 
commanded her.” 

“ Nothing more likely ; we carried lots of your country- 
men, though mostly forward of the gangways. I com- 
manded the Dawn more than twenty years ago.” 

“ It is all of that time since I crossed with you, sir : you 
may remember that we fell in with a wreck, ten days after 
we sailed, and took off her crew and two passengers. Three 
or four of the latter had died with their sufferings, and 
several of the people.” 

All this seems but as yesterday ! The wreck was a 
Charleston ship, that had started a butt.” 

“ Yes, sir — yes, sir — that is just it — she had started, but 
could not get in. That is just what they said at the time. 
I am David, sir — I should think you cannot have forgotten 
David.” 

The honest captain was very willing to gratify the other’s 
harmless self-importance, though, to tell the truth, he 
retained no more personal knowledge of the David of the 
Dawn, than he had of David, King of the Jews. 

“ Oh, David !” he cried, cordially ; “ are you David ? 
Well, I did not expect to see you again in this world, 
though I never doubted where we should be hereafter. 1 


HOME AS FOUND. 


377 


hope you are very well, David ; what sort of weather ha^e 
you made of it since we parted ? If I recollect aright, you 
worked your passage ; never at sea before.” 

“ I beg your pardon, sir ; I never was at sea before the 
first time, it is true ; but I did not belong to the crew. I 
was a passenger.” 

“ I remember, now, you were in the steerage,” returned 
the captain, who saw daylight ahead. 

“ Not at all, sir, but in the cabin.” 

“ Cabin !” echoed the captain, who perceived none of the 
requisites of a cabin-passenger in the other ; “ oh ! I under- 
stand, in the pantry ?” 

“ Exactly so, sir. You may remember my master ; he 
had the left hand state-room to himself, and I slept next to 
the scuttle-butt. You recollect master, sir ?” 

“ Out of doubt, a very good fellow he was. I hope you 
live with him still ?” 

“ Lord bless you, sir, he is dead !” 

“ Oh ! I recollect hearing of it at the time. Well, David, 
I hope if ever we cross again we shall be shipmates once 
more. We were beginners, then, but we have ships worth 
living in now. Good-night.” 

“Do you remember Dowse, sir, that we got from the 
wreck ?” continued the other, unwilling to give up his gos- 
sip so soon. “ He was a dark man, that had had the small- 
pox badly. I think, sir, you will recollect him, for he was 
a hard man in other particulars besides his countenance.” 

“ Somewhat flinty about the soul ; I remember the man 
well ; and so, David, good-night ; you will come and see 
me, if you are ever in town. Good-night, David.” 

David was now compelled to leave the place, for Captain 
Truck, who perceived that the whole party was getting 
together again in consequence of the halt, felt the propriety 
of dismissing his visitor, of whom, his master, and Dowse, 
he retained just as much recollection as one retains of a 


378 


HOME AS FOUND. 


common stage-coach companion after twenty years. The 
appearance of Mr. Howel, who just at that moment ap- 
proached them, aided the manoeuvre, and in a few minutes 
the different groups were again in motion, though some 
slight changes had taken place in the distribution of the 
parties. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


379 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


“ How silver sweet sound lovers’ tongues at night, 

Like softest music to attending ears !” 

Eomeo and Juliet. 


“ A POOR matter, this of the fireworks,” said Mr. Howel, 
who, with an old bachelor’s want of tact, had joined Eve 
and Paul in their walk. “The English would laugh at 
them famously, I dare say. Have you heard Sir George 
allude to them at all. Miss Eve ?” 

“ It would be great affectation for an Englishman to de- 
ride the fireworks of any dry climate,” said Eve, laughing ; 
“ and I dare say, if Sir George Templemore has been silent 
on the subject, it is because he is conscious he knows little 
about it.” 

“ Well, that is odd ! I should think England the very 
first country in the world for fireworks. I hear. Miss Eve, 
that, on the whole, the baronet is rather pleased with us ; 
and I must say that he is getting to be very popular in 
Templeton.” 

“ Nothing is easier than for an Englishman to become 
popular in America,” observed Paul, “ especially if his con- 
dition in life be above that of the vulgar. He has only to 
declare himself pleased with America ; or, to be sincerely 
hated, to declare himself displeased.” 

“ And in what does America differ from any other coun- 
try, in this respect ?” asked Eve, quickly. 

“Not much, certainly; love induces love, and dislike, 
dislike. There is nothing new in all this ; but the people 
of other countries, having more confidence in themselves. 


380 


HOME AS FOUND. 


do not so sensitively inquire what others think of them. I 
believe this contains the whole difference.” 

“ But Sir George does rather like us ?” inquired Mr. 
Howel, with interest. 

“He likes some of us particularly well,” returned Eve. 
“ Do you not know that my cousin Grace is to become Mrs. 
— I beg her pardon — Lady Templemore, very shortly ?” 

“ Good God ! — Is that possible— Lady Templemore ! — 
Lady Grace Templemore !” 

“ Not Lady Grace Templemore, but Grace, Lady Temple- 
more, and graceful Lady Templemore into the bargain.” 

“ And this honor, my dear Miss Eve, they tell me you 
refused !” 

“ They tell you wrong, then, sir,” answered the young 
lady, a little startled with the suddenness and hrusquerie of 
the remark, and yet prompt to do justice to all concerned. 
“ Sir George Templemore never did me the honor to pro- 
pose to me, or for me, and consequently he could not be 
refused.” 

“ It is very extraordinary ! I hear you were actually 
acquainted in Europe ?” 

“We were, Mr. Howel, actually acquainted in Europe, 
but I knew hundreds of persons in Europe who have never 
dreamed of asking me to marry them.” 

“ This is very strange — quite unlooked for — to marry Miss 
Van Cortlandt ! Is Mr. John Effingham in the grounds ?” 

Eve made no answer, but Paul hurriedly observed — 

“ You will find him in the next walk, I think, by return- 
ing a short distance, and taking the first path to the left.” 

Mr. Howel did as told, and was soon out of sight. 

“ That is a most earnest believer in English superiority, 
and, one may say, by his strong desire to give you an Eng- 
lish husband. Miss Effingham, in English merit.” 

“ It is the weak spot in the character of a very honest 
man. They tell me such instances were much more fre- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


381 


quent in this country thirty years since than they are to- 
day.” 

“ I can easily believe it, for I think I remember some 
characters of the sort myself. I have heard those who are 
older than I am, draw a distinction like this between the 
state of feeling that prevailed forty years ago and that which 
prevails to-day ; they say that formerly England absolutely 
and despotically thought for America, in all but those cases 
in which the interests of the two nations conflicted ; and I 
have even heard competent judges aflSrm, that so powerful 
was the influence of habit, and so successful the schemes of 
the political managers of the mother country, that even 
many of those who fought for the independence of America, 
actually doubted of the propriety of their acts, as Luther is 
known to have had fits of despondency concerning the just- 
ness of the reformation he was producing ; while latterly, 
the leaning towards England is less the result of a simple 
mental dependence — though of that there still remains a 
disgraceful amount — than of calculation, and a desire in a 
certain class to defeat the dominion of the mass, and to 
establish that of a few in its stead.” 

“ It would, indeed, be a strange consummation of the 
history of this country to find it becoming monarchical !” 

“ There are a few monarchists no doubt springing up in 
the country, though almost entirely in a class that only 
knows the world through the imagination and by means of 
books ; but the disposition in our time is to aristocracy, and 
not to monarchy. Most men that get to be rich discov-er 
that they are no happier for their possessions; perhaps 
every man who has not been trained and prepared to use 
his means properly, is in this category, as our friend the 
captain would call it, and then they begin to long for some 
other untried advantages. The example of the rest of the 
world is before our own wealthy, and,/aw^c d’ imagination^ 
they imitate because they cannot invent. Exclusive politi- 


I 


382 HOME AS FOUND. 

cal power is also a great ally in the accumulation of money, 
and a portion have the sagacity to see it ; though I suspect 
more pine for the vanities of the exclusive classes than for 
the substance. Your sex, Miss Effingham, as a whole, is not 
above this latter weakness, as I think you must have ob- 
served in your intercourse with those you met abroad.” 

“ I met with some instances of weakness in this way,” 
said Eve, with reserve, and with the pride of a woman, 
“ though not more, I think, than amoug the men ; and 
seldom, in either case, among those whom we are accus- 
tomed to consider people of condition at home. The self- 
respect and the habits of the latter generally preserved 
them from betraying this feebleness of character, if indeed 
they felt it.” 

“ The Americans abroad may be divided into two great 
classes ; those who go for improvement in the sciences or 
the arts, and those who go for mere amusement. As a 
whole, the former have struck me as being singularly re- 
spectable, equally removed from an apish servility and a 
swaggering pretension of superiority ; while, I fear, a major- 
ity of the latter have a disagreeable direction towards the 
vanities.” 

“ I will not affirm the contrary,” said Eve, “ for frivolity 
and pleasure are only too closely associated in ordinary 
minds. The number of those who prize the elegancies of 
life for their intrinsic value is everywhere small, I should 
think ; and I question if Europe is much better off than 
ourselves in this respect.” 

“ This may be true, and yet one can only regret that, in 
a case where so much depends on example, the tone of our 
people was not more assimilated to their facts. I do not 
know whether you were struck with the same peculiarity, 
but, whenever I felt in the mood to hear high monarchical 
and aristocratical doctrines blindly promulgated, I used to 
go to the nearest American Legation.” 


HOME AS POUND. 


383 


“ I have heard this fact commented on,” Eve answered, 
“ and even by foreigners, and I confess it has always struck 
me as singular. Why should the agent of a republic make 
a parade of his anti-republican sentiments ?” 

“ That there are exceptions, I will allow ; but, after the 
experience of many years, I honestly think that such is the 
rule. I might distrust my own opinion, or my own know- 
ledge ; but others, with opportunities equal to my own, have 
come to the same conclusion. I have just received a letter 
from Europe, complaining that an American Envoy Extra- 
ordinary, who would as soon think of denouncing himself 
as utter the same sentiments openly at home, has given an 
opinion against the utility of the vote by ballot ; and this, 
too, under circumstances that might naturally be thought 
to produce a practical effect.” 

“ Tant pis. To me all this is inexplicable !” 

“ It has its solution. Miss Effingham, like any other pro- 
blem. In ordinary times, extraordinary men seldom become 
prominent, power passing into the hands of clever mana- 
gers. Now, the very vanity, and the petty desires, that be- 
tray themselves in glittering uniforms, puerile affectations, 
and feeble imitations of other systems, probably induce more 
than half of those who fill the foreign missions to apply for 
them, and it is no more than we ought to expect that the real 
disposition should betray itself, when there was no longer 
any necessity for hypocrisy.” 

“ But I should think this necessity for hypocrisy would 
never cease ! Can it be possible that a people, as much at- 
tached to their institutions as the great mass of the Ame- 
rican nation is known to be, will tolerate such a base aban- 
donment of all they cherish ?” 

“How are they to know anything about it? It is a 
startling fact, that there is a man at this instant who has not 
a single claim to such a confidence, either in the way of 
mind, principles, manners, or attainments, filling a public 


384 


HOME AS FOUND. 


trust abroad, who, on all occasions, except those which he 
thinks will come directly before the American people, not 
only proclaims himself opposed to the great principles of the 
institutions, but who, in a recent controversy with a foreign 
nation, actually took sides against his own country, inform- 
ing that of the opposing nation, that the administration at 
home would not be supported by the legislative part of the 
government !” 

“ And why is not this publicly exposed?” 

“ Cui hono ! The presses that have no direct interest in 
the matter would treat the affair with indifference or levity, 
while a few would mystify the truth. It is quite impossible 
for any man in a private station to make the truth available 
in any country in a matter of public interest ; and those in 
public stations seldom or never attempt it, unless they see a 
direct party end to be obtained. This is the reason that we 
see so much infidelity to the principles of the institutions, 
among the public agents abroad, for they very well know 
that no one will be able to expose them. In addition to this 
motive, there is so strong a desire in that portion of the com- 
munity which is considered the highest, to effect a radical 
change in these very institutions, that infidelity to them, in 
their eyes, would be a merit, rather than an offence.” 

“ Surely, surely, other nations are not treated in this cava- 
lier manner !” 

“ Certainly not. The foreign agent of a prince, who 
should whisper a syllable against his master, would be re- 
called with disgrace ; but the servant of the people is differ- 
ently situated, since there are so many to be persuaded of 
his guilt. I could always get along with all the attacks that 
the Europeans are so fond of making on the American sys- 
tem, but those which they quoted from the mouths of our 
own diplomatic agents.” 

“ Why do not our travellers expose this ?” 

“ Most of them see too little to know anything of it. They 


HOME AS POUND. 


385 


dine at a diplomatic table, see a star or two, fancy them- 
selves obliged, and pulf elegancies that have no existence, 
except in their own brains. Some think with the unfaithful, 
and see no harm in the infidelity. Others calculate the in- 
jury to themselves, and no small portion would fancy it a 
greater proof of patriotism to turn a sentence in favor of 
the comparative “ energies” and “ superior intelligence” of 
their own people, than to point out this or any other dis- 
graceful fact, did they even possess the opportunities to dis- 
cover it. Though no one thinks more highly of these quali- 
ties in the Americans, considered in connexion with practical- 
things, than myself; no one, probably, gives them less credit 
for their ability to distinguish between appearances and 
reality, in matters of principle.” 

“ It is probable that were we nearer to the rest of the 
world, these abuses would not exist, for it is certain that 
they are not so openly practised at home. I am glad, 
however, to find that, even while you felt some uncer- 
tainty concerning your own birth-place, you took so much 
interest in us as to identify yourself in feeling, at least, with 
the nation.” 

“ There was one moment when I was really afraid that 
•the truth would show I was actually born an English- 
man 

“Afraid!” interrupted Eve; “that is a strong word to 
apply to so great and glorious a people.” 

“We cannot always account for our prejudices, and per- 
haps this was one of mine ; and now that I know that to be 
an Englishman is not the greatest possible merit in your 
eyes. Miss EfiSngham, it is in no manner lessened.” 

“ In my eyes, Mr. Powis ! I do not remember to have 
expressed any partiality for or any prejudice against the 
English: so far as I can speak of my own feelings, I 
regard the English the same as any other foreign peo- 
ple.” 


17 


386 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ In words you have not, certainly ; but acts speak louder 
than words.” 

“You are disposed to be mysterious to-night. What 
act of mine has declared -pro or con in this important 
affair ?” 

“You have at least done what, I fear, few of your country- 
women would have the moral courage and self-denial to do, 
and especially those who are accustomed to living abroad — 
refused to be the wife of an English baronet of a good estate^ 
and respectable family.” 

“ Mr. Powis,” said Eve, gravely, “ this is an injustice to 
Sir George Templemore, that my sense of right will not per- 
mit to go uncontradicted, as well as an injustice to my sex 
and me. As I told Mr. Ilowel, in your presence, that gen- 
tleman has never proposed for me, and of course cannot 
have been refiised. Nor can I suppose that any American 
gentlewoman can deem so paltry a thing as a baronetcy, an 
inducement to forget her self-respect.” 

“ I fully appreciate your generous moaesty. Miss Effing- 
ham ; but you cannot expect that I, to whom Templemore’s 
admiration gave so much uneasiness, not to say pain, am to 
understand you, as Mr. Howel has probably done, too broad- 
ly. Although Sir George may not have positively proposed, 
his readiness to do so, on the least encouragement, was too 
obvious to be overlooked by a near observer.” 

Eve was ready to gasp for breath, so completely by sur- 
prise was she taken by the calm, earnest, and yet respectful 
manner, in which Paul confessed his jealousy. There was 
a tremor in his voice, too, usually so clear and even, that 
touched her heart, for feeling responds to feeling, as the 
echo answers sound when there exists a real sympathy be- 
tween the sexes. She felt the necessity of saying something, 
and yet they had walked some distance ere it was in her 
power to utter a syllable. 

“ I fear my presumption has offended you. Miss Effing- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


387 


ham,” said Paul, speaking more like a corrected child than 
the lion-hearted young man he had proved himself. 

There was deep homage in the emotion he betrayed, and 
Eve, although she could barely distinguish his features, was 
not slow in discovering this proof of the extent of her power 
over his feelings. 

“ Do not call it presumption,” she said ; “ for one who has 
done so much for us all, can surely claim some right to take 
an interest in those he has so well served. As for Sir George 
Templemore, you have probably mistaken the feeling created 
by our common adventures for one of more importance. He 
is warmly and sincerely attached to my cousin, Grace Van 
Cortlandt.” 

“ That he is so now, I fully believe ; but that a very dif- 
ferent magnet first kept him from the Canadas, I am sure. 
We treated each other generously, Miss Effingham, and had 
no concealments, during that long and anxious night, when 
all expected that the day would dawn on our captivity. 
Templemore is too manly and honest to deny his former 
desire to obtain you for a wife, and I think even he would 
admit that it depended entirely on yourself to be so, or not.” 

“ This is an act of self-humiliation that he is not called on 
to perform,” Eve hurriedly replied ; “ such allusions, now, 
are worse than useless, and they might pain my cousin, 
were she to hear them.” 

“ I am mistaken in my friend’s character if he leave his 
betrothed in any doubt on this subject. Five minutes of 
perfect frankness now, might obviate years of distrust here- 
after.” 

“ And would you, Mr. Powis, avow a former weakness of 
this sort to the woman you had finally selected for your 
wife ? ” 

“ I ought not to quote myself for authority, for or against 
such a course, since I have never loved but one, and her 
with a passion too single and too ardent ever to admit of 


388 


HOME AS FOUND. 


competition. Miss Effingham, there would be something 
worse than affectation— it would be trifling with one who is 
sacred in my eyes, were I now to refrain from speaking ex- 
plicitly, although what I am about to say is forced from me 
by circumstances, rather than voluntary, and is almost 
uttered without a definite object. Have I your permission 
to proceed ? ” 

“ You can scarcely need a permission, being the master 
of your own secrets, Mr. Powis.” 

Paul, like all men agitated by strong passion, was incon- 
sistent, and far from just; -and Eve felt the truth of this, 
even while her mind was ingeniously framing excuses for his 
weakness. Still the impression that she was about to listen to 
a declaration that possibly ought never to be made, weighed 
upon her, and caused her to speak with more coldness than 
she actually felt. As she continued silent, however, the 
young man saw that it had become indispensably necessary 
to be explicit. 

• “ I shall not detain you. Miss Effingham, perhaps vex 
you,” he said, “ with the history of those early impressions 
which have gradually grown upon me, until they have be- 
come interwoven with my very existence. We met, as you 
know, at Vienna, for the first time. An Austrian of rank, 
to whom I had become known through some fortunate cir- 
cumstances, introduced me into the best society of that 
capital, in which I found you the admiration of all who 
knew you. My first feeling was that of exultation, at seeing 
a young countrywoman — you were then almost a child. Miss 
Effingham — the greatest attraction of a capital celebrated 

for the beauty and grace of its women ” 

“Your national partialities have made you an unjust 
judge towards others, Mr. Powis,” Eve interrupted him by 
saying, though the earnestness and passion with which the 
young man uttered his feelings, made music to her ears : 
“ what had a young, frightened, half-educated American girl 


HOME AS FOUND. 


389 


to boast of, when put in competition with the finished 
women of Austria ? ” 

“ Her surpassing beauty, her unconscious superiority, her 
attainments, her trembling simplicity and modesty, and her 
meek purity of mind. All these did you possess, not only 
in my eyes, but in those of others ; for these are subjects on 
which I dwelt too fondly to be mistaken.” 

A rocket passed near them at the moment, and while 
both were too much occupied by the discourse to heed the 
interruption, its transient light enabled Paul to see the 
flushed cheeks and tearful eyes of Eve, as the latter were 
turned on him in a grateful pleasure, that his ardent praises 
extorted from her, in despite of all her struggles for self- 
command. 

“We will leave to others this comparison, Mr. Powis,” 
she said, “ and confine ourselves to less doubtful subjects.” 

“ If I am then to speak only of that which is beyond all 
question, I shall speak chiefly of my long cherished, devoted, 
unceasing love. I adored you at Vienna, Miss Effingham, 
though it was at a distance, as one might worship the sun ; 
for while your excellent father admitted me to his society, 
and I even think honored me with some portion of his 
esteem, I had but little opportunity to ascertain the value 
of the jewel that was contained in so beautiful a casket ; 
but when we met the following summer in Switzerland, I 
first began truly to love. Then I learned the justness of 
thought, the beautiful candor, the perfectly feminine deli- 
cacy of your mind ; and, although I will not say that these 
qualities were not enhanced in the eyes of so young a man, 
by the extreme beauty of their possessor, I will say that 
as weighed against each other, I could a thousand times 
prefer the former to the latter, unequalled as the latter 
almost is even among your own beautiful sex.” 

“ This is presenting flattery in its most seductive form, 
Powis.” 


390 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Perhaps my incoherent ana abrupt manner of explain- 
ing myself deserves a rebuke ; though nothing can be 
further from my intentions than to seem to flatter, or in 
any manner to exaggerate. I intend merely to give a faith- 
ful history of the state of my feelings, and of the progress 
of my love.” 

Eve smiled faintly, but sweetly, as Paul would have 
thought, had the obscurity permitted more than a dim view 
of her lovely countenance. 

“ Ought I to listen to such praises, Mr. Powis,” she asked ; 
“ praises which only contribute to a self-esteem that is too 
great already ? ” 

“ No one but yourself would say this ; but your question 
does, indeed, remind me of the indiscretion that I have 
fallen into, by losing that command of my feelings in which 
I have so long exulted. No man should make a woman the 
confidante of his attachment, until he is fully prepared to 
accompany the declaration with an ofifer of his hand — and 
such is not my condition.” 

Eve made no dramatic start, assumed no look of affected 
surprise or of wounded dignity ; but she turned on her 
lover her serene eyes, with an expression of concern so 
eloquent, and of a wonder so natural, that could he have seen 
it, it would probably have overcome every difficulty on the 
spot, and produced the usual offer, notwithstanding the ob- 
stacle that he seemed to think insurmountable. 

“ And yet,” he continued, “ I have now said so much, in- 
voluntarily as it has been, that I feel it not only due to you, 
but in some measure to myself, to add that the fondest wish 
of my heart, the end and aim of all my day-dreams, as well 
as of my most sober thoughts for the future, centre in the 
common wish to obtain you for a wife.” 

The eye of Eve fell, and the expression of her countenance 
changed, while a slight but uncontrollable tremor ran 
through her frame. After a short pause she summoned all 


HOME AS FOUND. 


391 


her resolution, and in a voice, the firmness of which sur- 
prised even herself, she asked — 

“ Powis, to what does all this tend ? ” 

“ Well may you ask that question. Miss Effingham ! You 
have every right to put it, and the answer, at least, shall add 
no 'further cause of self-reproach. Give me, I entreat you, 
hut a minute to collect my thoughts, and I will endeavor to 
acquit myself of an imperious duty, in a manner more manly 
and coherent, than I fear has been observed for the last ten 
minutes.” 

They walked a short distance in profound silence. Eve 
still under the influence of astonishment, in which an un- 
certain and indefinite dread of, she scarce knew what, began 
to mingle ; and Paul, endeavoring to quiet the tumult that 
had been so suddenly aroused within him. The latter then 
spoke : 

“ Circumstances have always deprived me of the hap- 
piness of experiencing the tenderness and sympathy of your 
sex. Miss EflSngham, and have thrown me more exclusively 
among the colder and ruder spirits of my own. My mother 
died at the time of my birth, thus cutting me off at once 
from one of the dearest of earthly ties. I am not certain 
that I do not exaggerate the loss in consequence of the pri- 
vations I have suffered ; but from the hour when I first 
learned to feel, I have had a yearning for the tender, patient, 
endearing, disinterested love of a mother. You, too, suf- 
fered a similar loss, at an early period, if I have been cor- 
rectly informed ” 

A sob — a stifled, but painful sob, escaped Eve ; and in- 
expressibly shocked, Paul ceased dwelling on his own 
sources of sorrow, to attend to those he had so unintention- 
ally disturbed. 

“ I have been selfish, dearest Miss Effingham,” he ex- 
claimed — “have overtaxed your patience — have annoyed 
you with griefs and losses that have no interests for you. 


392 


HOME AS FOUND. 


which can have no interest, with one happy and blessed as 
yourself.” 

“No, no, no, Powis — you are unjust to both. I, too, 
lost my mother when a mere child, and never knew her 
love and tenderness. Proceed ; I am calmer, and ear- 
nestly entreat you to forget my weakness, and to pro- 
ceed.” 

Paul did proceed, but this brief interruption in which 
they had mingled their sorrows for a common misfortune, 
struck a new chord of feeling, and removed a mountain of 
reserve and distance, that might otherwise have obstructed 
their growing confidence. 

“Cut off in this manner from my nearest and dearest 
natural friend,” Paul continued, “ I was thrown, an infant, 
into the care of hirelings ; and, in this at least, my fortune 
was still more cruel than your own; for the excellent 
woman who has been so happy as to have had the charge 
of your infancy, had nearly the love of a natural mother, 
however she may have been wanting in the attainments of 
one of your own condition in life.” 

“ But we had both of us our fathers, Mr. Powis. To me, 
my excellent, high principled, affectionate — nay tender 
father, has been everything. Without -him, I should have 
been truly miserable ; and with him, notwithstanding these 
rebellious tears — tears that I must ascribe to the infection of 
your own grief — I have been truly blest.” 

“ Mr. Effingham deserves this from you, but I never knew 
my father, you will remember.” 

“ I am an unworthy confidante, to have forgotten this so 
soon. Poor Powis, you were, indeed, unhappy !” 

“ He had parted from my mother before my birth, and 
either died soon after, or has never deemed his child of 
sufiicient worth to make him the subject of interest sufficient 
to excite a single inquiry into his fate.” 

“ Then he never knew that child !” burst from Eve, with 


HOME AS FOUND. 


393 


a fervor and frankness that set all reserves, whether of 
womanly training or of natural timidity, at defiance. 

“Miss Effingham! — dearest Miss Effingham — Eve, my 
own Eve, what am I to infer from this generous warmth ! 
Do not mislead me I I can bear my solitary misery, can 
brave the sufferings of an isolated existence ; but I could 
not live under the disappointments of such a hope, a hope 
fairly quickened by a clear expression from your lips.” 

“You teach me the importance of caution, Powis, and 
we will now return to your history, and to that confidence 
of which I shall not again prove a faithless repository. 
For the present at least, I beg that you will forget all 
else.” 

“A command so kindly — so encouragingly given — do I 
offend, dearest Miss Effingham ?” Eve, for the second time 
in her life, placed her own light arm and beautiful hand 
through the arm of Paul, discovering a bewitching but 
modest reliance on his worth and truth, by the very manner 
in which she did this simple and every-day act, while she 
said more cheerfully — 

“ You forget the substance of the command, at the very 
moment you would have me suppose you most disposed to 
obey it.” 

“Well, then. Miss Effingham, you shall be more implicitly 
minded. Why my father left my mother so soon after their 
union, I never knew. It would seem that they lived toge- 
ther but a few months, though I have the proud conso- 
lation of knowing that my mother was blameless. For 
years I suffered the misery of doubt on a point that is ever 
the most tender with man — a distrust of his own mother ; 
but all this has been happily, blessedly, cleared up, during 
my late visit to England. It is true that Lady Dunluce was 
my mother’s sister, and as such might have been lenient to 
her failings ; but a letter from my father, that was written 
only a month before my mother’s death, leaves no doubt not 
17 ^ 


394 


HOME AS FOUND. 


only of her blamelessness as a wife, but bears ample testi- 
mony to the sweetness of her disposition. This letter is a 
precious document for a son to possess, Miss Effingham !” 

Eve made no answer ; but Paul fancied that he felt ano- 
ther gentle pressure of the hand, which, until then, had 
rested so lightly on his own arm, that he scarcely dared to 
move the latter, lest he might lose the precious conscious- 
ness of its presence. 

“ I have other letters from my father to my mother,” the 
young man continued, “ but none that are so cheering to 
my heart as this. From their general tone, I cannot per- 
suade myself that he ever truly loved her. It is a cruel 
thing. Miss Effingham, for a man to deceive a woman on a 
point like that !” 

“Cruel, indeed,” said Eve, firmly. “Death itself were 
preferable to such a delusion.” 

“ I think my father deceived himself as well as my mo- 
ther ; for there is a strange incoherence and a want of dis- 
tinctness in some of his letters, that caused feelings, keen 
as mine naturally were on such a subject, to distrust his 
affection from the first.” 

“Was your mother rich?” Eve asked innocently; for an 
heiress herself, her vigilance had early been directed to that 
great motive of deception and dishonesty. 

“ Not in the least. She had little besides her high line- 
age, and her beauty. I have her picture, which sufficiently 
proves the latter; had, I ought rather to say, for it was her 
miniature of which I was robbed by the Arabs, as you may 
remember, and I have not seen it since. In the way of 
money, my mother had barely the competency of a gentle- 
woman ; nothing more.” 

The pressure on Paul was more palpable, as he spoke 
of the miniature ; and he ventured to touch his com- 
panion’s arm, in order to give it a surer hold of his 
own. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


395 


“ Mr. Powis was not mercenary, then, and it is a great 
deal,” said Eve, speaking as if she was scarcely conscious 
that she spoke at all. 

‘ Mr. Powis ! — He was everything that was noble and dis- 
interested. A more generous, or a less selfish man, never 
existed than Francis Powis.” 

“ I thought you never knew your father personally I” ex- 
claimed Eve in surprise. 

“ Nor did I. But you are in error, supposing that my 
father’s name was Powis, when it was Assheton.” 

Paul then explained the manner in which he had been 
adopted while still a child, by a gentleman called Powis, 
whose name he had taken, on finding himself deserted by 
his own natural parent, and to whose fortune he had suc- 
ceeded, on the death of his voluntary protector. 

“ I bore the name of Assheton until Mr. Powis took me 
to France, when he advised me to assume his own, which I 
did the more readily, as he thought he had ascertained that 
my father was dead, and that he had bequeathed the whole 
of a very considerable estate to his nephews and nieces, 
making no allusion to me in his will, and seemingly anxious 
even to deny his marriage ; at least he passed among his 
acquaintances for a bachelor to his dying day.” 

“ There is something so unusual and inexplicable in all 
this, Mr. Powis, that it strikes me you have been to blame 
in not inquiring more closely into the circumstances 
than, by your own account, I should think had been 
done.” 

“ For a long time, for many bitter years, I was afraid to 
inquire, lest I should learn something injurious to a mother’s 
name. Then there was the arduous and confined service of 
my profession, which kept me in distant seas ; and the last 
journey and painful indisposition of my excellent benefactor, 
prevented even the wish to inquire after my own family. 
The offended pride of Mr. Powis, who was justly hurt at the 


396 


HOME AS FOUND. 


cavalier manner in which my father’s relatives met his 
advances, aided in alienating me from that portion of my 
relatives, and put a stop to all additional proffers of inter- 
course from me. They even affected to doubt the fact that 
my father had ever married.” 

“ But of that you had proof ?” Eve earnestly asked. 

“ Unanswerable. My aunt Dunluce was present at the 
ceremony, and I possess the certificate given to my mother 
by the clergyman who officiated. Is it not strange. Miss 
EflSngham, that with all these circumstances in favor of my 
legitimacy, even Lady Dunluce and her family, until lately, 
had doubts of the fact ?” 

“ That is indeed unaccountable, your aunt having wit- 
nessed the ceremony.” 

“ Very true ; but some circumstances, a little aided perhaps 
by the strong desire of her husband. General Ducie, to obtain 
the revival of a barony that was in abeyance, and of which 
she w^ould be the only heir, assuming that my rights were 
invalid, inclined her to believe that my father was already 
married, when he entered into the solemn contract with my 
mother. But from that curse,* too, I have been happily 
relieved.” 

“ Poor Powis !” said Eve, with a sympathy that her voice 
expressed more clearly even than her words ; “ you have, 
indeed, suffered cruelly, for one so young.” 

“ I have learned to bear it, dearest Miss EflSngham, and 
have stood so long a solitary and isolated being ; one in 
whom none have taken any interest ” 

“ Nay, say not that ; we, at least, have alw^ays felt an 
interest in you — have always esteemed you, and now have 
learned to ” 

“ Learned to ?” 

“ Love you,” said Eve, with a steadiness that afterwards 
astonished herself ; but she felt that a being so placed was 
entitled to be treated with a frankness different from the 


HOME AS FOUND. 397 

reserve that it is usual for her sex to observe on similar 
occasions. 

“ Love !” cried Paul, dropping her arm. “ Miss Effing- 
ham ! — Eve — hut that we /” 

“ I mean my dear father — cousin Jack — myself.” 

“ Such a feeling will not heal a wound like mine. A 
love that is shared with even such men as your excellent 
father and your worthy cousin will not make me happy. 
But why should I, unowned, hearing a name to which I 
have no legal title, and virtually without relatives, aspire to 
• one like you !” 

The windings of the path had brought them near a 
window of the house, whence a stream of strong light 
gleamed upon the sweet countenance of Eve, as raising her 
eyes to those of her companion, with a face bathed in 
tears, and flushed with natural feeling and modesty, the 
struggle between which even heightened her loveliness, she 
smiled an encouragement that it was impossible to miscon- 
strue. 

“ Can I believe my senses ! Will you — do you — can you 
listen to the suit of one like me ?” the young man ex- 
claimed, as he hurried his companion past the window, lest 
some interruption might destroy his hopes. 

“ Is there any sufficient reason why I should not, 
Powis ? ” 

“ Nothing but my unfortunate situation in respect to my 
family, my comparative poverty, and my general unworthi- 
ness.” 

“ Your unfortunate situation in respect to your relatives 
would, if anything, be a new and dearer tie with us ; your 
comparative poverty is merely comparative, and can be of 
no account, where there is sufficient already ; and as for 
your general unworthiness I fear it will find more than an 
oflset in that of the girl you have so rashly chosen from the 
rest of the world.” 


398 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Eve — dearest Eve,” said Paul, seizing both her hands, 
and stopping her at the entrance of some shrubbery that 
densely shaded the path, and where the little light that fell 
from the stars enabled him still to trace her features — “ you 
will not leave me in doubt on a subject of this nature — am 
I really so blessed ?” 

“ If accepting the faith and affection of a heart that is 
wholly yours, Powis, can make you happy, your sorrows 
will be at an end 

“ But your father ?” said the young man, almost breath- 
less in his eagerness to know all. 

“ Is here to confirm what his daughter has just declared,” 
said Mr. Effingham, coming out of the shrubbery beyond 
them, and laying a hand kindly cm Paul’s shoulder. “ To 
find that you so well understand each other, Powis, removes 
from my mind one of the greatest anxieties I have ever ex- 
perienced. My cousin John, as he was bound to do, has 
made me acquainted with all you have told him of your 
past life, and there remains nothing further to be revealed. 
We have known you for years, and receive you into our 
family with as free a welcome as we could receive any pre- 
cious boon from Providence.” 

“ Mr. Effingham ! — dear sir,” said Paul, almost gasping 
between surprise and rapture — “ this is indeed beyond all 
my hopes ; and this generous frankness, too, in your lovely 
daughter ” 

Paul’s hands had been transferred to those of the father, 
he knew not how; but releasing them hurriedly he now 
turned in quest of Eve again, and found she had fled. In 
the short interval between the address of her father and the 
words of Paul she had found means to disappear, leaving 
the gentlemen together. The young man would have fol- 
lowed, but the cooler head of Mr. Effingham perceiving that 
the occasion was favorable to a private conversation with 
his accepted son-in-law, and quite as unfavorable to one, or 


HOME AS FOUND. 


399 


at least to a very rational one, between the lovers, he 
quietly took the young man’s arm, and led him towards a 
more private walk. There half an hour of confidential 
discourse calmed the feelings of both, and rendered Paul 
Powis one of the happiest of human beings 


400 


HOME AS FOXTKD 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

* Toa diaD do marrelloiu wisely, good Eojualdo, 

Bef««e joa riat him, to make toqiiiij 
Of his behoTior.’* 

Hamuet. 


Aw SiDiEY was engaged among tlie dresses of Eve, as 
she loved to be, although Annette held her taste in too low 
estimation ever to permit her to apply a needle, or even to 
fit a robe to the beantifol form that was to wear it, when 
oar heroine glided into the room, and sank npon a sofa. 
Eve was too much absorbed with her own feelings to 
observe the presence of her qniet, nnobtrosive old nurse, 
and too much accustomed to her care and sympathy to 
heed it, had it been seen. For a moment she remained, 
her fece stiU suffused with blushes, her hands lying before 
her folded, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, and then the pent 
emotions found an outlet in a flood of tears. 

Poor Ann could not have felt more shocked had she 
heard of any unexpected calamity, than she was at this 
sadden outbreaking of feeling in her child. She went to 
her, and bent over her with the solicitude of a mother, as 
she inquired into the causes of her apparent sorrow. 

“ Tell me, Miss Eve, and it will relieve your mind,” said 
the faithful woman ; “ your dear mother had such feelings 
sometimes, and I never dared to question her about them ; 
but you are my own child, and nothing can grieve you 
without grieving me.” 

The eyes of Eve were brilliant, her face continued to be 
suffused, and the smile which she gave through her tears was 


HOME AS POUND. 


401 


SO bright, as to leave her poor attendant in deep perplexity 
as to the cause of a gush of feeling that was very unusual in 
one of the other’s regulated mind. 

“ It is not grief, dear Nanny,” — Eve at length murmured 
— “ anything but that ! I am not unhappy. Oh ! no ; as far 
from unhappiness as possible.” 

“ God be praised it is so, ma’am ! I was afraid that this 
aflfair of the English gentleman and Miss Grace might not 
prove agreeable to you, for he has not behaved as handsome- 
ly as he might, in that transaction.” 

“And why not, my poor Nanny? I have neither claim, 
nor the wish to possess a claim, on Sir George Templemore. 
His selection of my cousin has given me sincere satisfaction, 
rather than pain; were he a countryman of our ov/n, I 
should say unalloyed satisfaction, for I firmly believe he will 
strive to make her happy.” 

Nanny now looked at her young mistress, then at the 
fioor; at her young mistress again, and afterwards at a 
rocket that was sailing athwart the sky. Her eyes, however, 
returned to those of Eve, and encouraged by the bright 
beam of happiness that was glowing in the countenance she 
so much loved, she ventured to say — 

“ If Mr. Powis were a more presuming gentleman than 
he is, ma’am ” 

“You mean a less modest, Nanny,” said Eve, perceiving 
that her nurse paused. 

“Yes, ma’am — one that thought more of himself, and less 
of other people, is what I wish to say.” 

“ And were this the case ?” 

“ I might think he would find the heart to say what I 
know he feels.” 

“ And did he find the heart to say what you know he feels, 
what does Ann Sidley think should be my answer ?” 

“Oh, ma’am, I know it would be just as it ought to be. 
I cannot repeat what ladies say on such occasions, but I 


402 


HOME AS FOUND. 


know that it is what makes the hearts of the gentlemen leap 
for joy.” 

There are occasions in which woman can hardly dispense 
with the sympathy of woman. Eve loved her father most 
tenderly ; had more than the usual confidence in him, for she 
had never known a mother ; hut had the present conversa- 
tion been with him, notwithstanding all her reliance on his 
affection, her nature would have shrunk from pouring out 
her feelings as freely as she might have done with her other 
parent, had not death deprived her of such a blessing. Be- 
tween our heroine and Ann Sidley, on the other hand, there 
existed a confidence of a nature so peculiar, as to require a 
word of explanation before we exhibit its effects. In all that 
related to physical wants, Ann had been a mother, or even 
more than a mother, to Eve, and this alone had induced 
great personal dependence in the one, and a sort of super- 
visory care in the other, that had brought her to fancy she' 
was responsible for the bodily health and well-doing of her 
charge. But this was not all. Nanny had been the reposi- 
tory of Eve’s childish griefs, the confidante of her girlish 
secrets ; and though the years of the latter soon caused her 
to be placed under the management of those who were 
better qualified to store her mind, this communication never 
ceased ,* the high-toned and educated young woman revert- 
ing with unabated affection, and a reliance that nothing 
could shake, to the long-tried tenderness of the being who 
had watched over her infancy. The effect of such an inti- 
macy was often amusing; the one party bringing to the 
conferences a mind filled with the knowledge suited to her 
sex and station, habits that had been formed in the best cir- 
cles of Christendom, and tastes that had been acquired in 
schools of high reputation ; and the other, little more than 
her single-hearted love, a fidelity that ennobled her nature, 
and a simplicity that betokened perfect purity of thought. 
Nor was this extraordinary confidence without its advan- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


403 


tages to Eve ; for, thrown so early among the artificial and 
calculating, it served to keep her own ingenuousness of 
character active, and prevented that cold, selfish, and unat- 
tractive sophistication, that mere women of fashion are apt 
to fall into, from their isolated and factitious mode of exist- 
ence. When Eve, therefore, put the questions to her nurse 
that have already been mentioned, it was more with a real 
wish to know how the latter would view a choice on which 
her own mind was so fully made up, than any silly trifling 
on a subject that engrossed so much of her best affections. 

“ But you have not told me, dear Nanny,” she continued, 
“ w^hat you would have that answer be. Ought I, for in- 
stance, ever to quit my beloved father ?” 

“ What necessity would there be for that, ma’am ? Mr. 
Powis has no home of his own ; and, for that matter, scarcely 
any country ” 

“ How can you know this, Nanny ?” demanded Eve, with 
the jealous sensitiveness of a young love. 

“ W^hy, Miss Eve, his man says this much, and he has 
lived with him long enough to know it, if he had a home. 
Now, I seldom sleep without looking back at the day, and 
often have my thoughts turned to Sir George Templemore 
and Mr. Powis ; and when I have remembered that the first 
had a house and a home, and that the last had neither, it 
has always seemed to me that he ought to be the one.” 

“ And then, in all this matter, you have thought of con- 
venience, and what might be agreeable to others, rather 
than of me.” 

“ Miss Eve !” 

“ Nay, dearest Nanny, forgive me ; I know your last 
thought, in everything, is for yourself. But, surely, the 
mere circumstance that he had no home, ought not to be a 
sufficient reason for selecting any man for a husband. With 
most women it would be an objection.” 

“ I pretend to know very little of these feelings. Miss Eve. 


404 


HOME AS FOUND. 


I have been wooed, I acknowledge ; and once I do think I 
might have been tempted to marry, had it not been for a 
particular circumstance.” 

“ You ! You marry, Ann Sidley !” exclaimed Eve, to 
whom the bare idea seemed as odd and unnatural as that 
her own father should forget her mother and take a second 
wife. “ This is altogether new, and I should be glad to know 
what the lucky circumstance was, which prevented what, 
to me, might have proved so great a calamity.” 

“ Why, ma’am, I said to myself, what does a woman do 
who marries ? She vows to quit all else to go with her 
husband, and to love him before father and mother, and all 
other living beings on earth — is it not so. Miss Eve ?” 

“ I believe it is so, indeed, Nanny ; nay, I am quite cer- 
tain it is so,” Eve answered, the color deepening on her 
cheek, as she gave this opinion to her old nurse, with the 
inward consciousness' that she had just experienced some of 
the happiest moments of her life, through tho admission of 
a passion that thus overshadowed all the natural affections. 
“ It is, truly, as you say.” 

“ Well, ma’am, I investigated my feelings, I believe they 
call it, and after a proper trial, I found that I loved you so 
much better than any one else, that I could not, in con- 
science, make the vows.” 

“ Dearest Nanny ! my kind, good, faithful old nurse ! let 
me hold you in my arms ; and I, selfish, thoughtless, heart- 
less girl, would forget the circumstance that would be most 
likely to keep us together, for the remainder of our lives ! 
Hist ! there is a tap at the door. It is Mrs. Bloomfield ; I 
know her light step. Admit her, my kind Ann, and leave 
us together.” 

The bright searching eye of Mrs. Bloomfield was riveted 
on her young friend, as she advanced into the room ; and 
her smile, usually so gay and sometimes ironical, was now 
thoughtful and kind. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


405 


“ Well, Miss Effiiigliam,” she cried, in a manner that her 
looks contradicted, “ am I to condole with you, or to con- 
gratulate ? For a more sudden or miraculous change did I 
never before witness in a young lady, though whether it be 

for the better or the worse These are ominous words, 

too — for ‘ better or worse, for richer or poorer’ ” 

“ You are in fine spirits this evening, my dear Mrs. Bloom- 
field, and appear to have entered into the gaieties of the 
Fun of Fire with all your ” 

“ Might, will be a homely, but an expressive word. Your 
Templeton Fun of Fire is fiery fun, for it has cost us some- 
thing like a general conflagration. Mrs. Hawker has been 
near a downfall, like your great namesake, by a serpent’s 
coming too near her dress ; one barn, I hear, has actually 
been in a blaze, and Sir George Templemore’s heart is in 
cinders. Mr. John Effingham has been telling me that he 
should not have been a bachelor had there been two Mrs. 
Bloomfields in the world, and Mr. Powis looks like a rafter 
dug out of Herculaneum, nothing but’ coal.” 

“And what occasions this pleasantry?” asked Eve, so 
composed in manner that her friend was momentarily de- 
ceived. 

Mrs. Bloomfield took a seat on the sofa, by the side of 
our heroine, and regarding her steadily for near a minute, 
she continued — 

“ Hypocrisy and Eve Effingham can have little in com- 
mon, and my ears must have deceived me.” 

“Your ears, dear Mrs. Bloomfield !” 

“ My ears, dear Miss Effingham. I very well know the 
character of an eavesdropper, but if gentlemen will make 
passionate declarations in the walks of a garden, with no- 
thing but a little shrubbery between their ardent declarations 
and the curiosity of those who may happen to be passing, 
they must expect to be overheard.” 

Eve’s color had gradually increased as her friend pro- 


406 


HOME AS FOUND. 


ceeded, and when the other ceased speaking, as bright a 
bloom glowed on her countenance as had shone there when 
she first entered the room. 

“ May I ask the meaning of all this she said, with an 
effort to appear calm. 

“ Certainly, my dear ; and you shall also know the feel- 
ings that prompt it, as well as the meaning,” returned Mrs. 
Bloomfield, kindly taking Eve’s hand in a way to show 
that she did not mean to trifle further on a subject that 
was of so much moment to her young friend. “ Mr. John 
Effingham and myself were star-gazing at a point where 
two walks approach each other, just as you and Mr. Powis 
were passing in the adjoining path. Without absolutely 
stopping our ears, it was quite impossible not to hear a por- 
tion of your conversation. We both tried to behave honor- 
ably ; for I coughed, and your kinsman actually hemmed, 
but we were unheeded.” 

“ Coughed and hemmed !” repeated Eve, in greater con- 
fusion than ever. “ There must be some mistake, dear Mrs. 
Bloomfield, as I remember to have heard no such signals.” 

“ Quite likely, my love, for there was a time when I too 
had ears for only one voice ; but you can have affidavits to 
the fact, d la mode de New England^ if you require them. 
Do not mistake my motive, nevertheless. Miss Effingham, 
which is anything but vulgar curiosity” — here Mrs. Bloom- 
field looked so kind and friendly, that Eve took both her 
hands and pressed them to her heart — “ you are mother- 
less ; without even a single female connexion of a suitable 
age to consult with on such an occasion, and fathers after 
all are but men ” 

“ Mine is as kind, and delicate, and tender, as any woman • 
can be, Mrs. Bloomfield.” 

“ I believe it all, though he may not be quite as quick- 
sighted in an affair of this nature. Am I at liberty to speak 
to you as if I were an elder sister ? ” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


401 


“ Speak, Mrs. Bloomfield, as frankly as you please, but 
leave me the mistress of my answers.” 

It is, then, as I suspected,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, in a 
sort of musing manner ; “ the men have been won over, 
and this young creature has absolutely been left without a 
protector in the most important moment of her life.” 

“Mrs. Bloomfield !— What does this mean ?— What can 
it mean ? ” 

“ It means merely general principles, child ; that your 
father and cousin have been parties concerned, instead of 
vigilant sentinels ; and with all their pretended care, that 
you have been left to grope your way in the darkness of 
female uncertainty, with one of the most pleasing young 
men in the country constantly before you, to help the 
obscurity.” 

It is a dreadful moment when we are taught to doubt the 
worth of those we love ; and Eve became pale as death as 
she listened to the words of her friend. Once before, on 
the occasion of Paul’s return to England, she had felt a 
pang of that sort, though reflection, and a calm revision of 
all his acts and words since they first met in Germany, had 
enabled her to get the better of indecision, and when she 
first saw him on the mountain, nearly every unpleasant ap- 
prehension and distrust had been dissipated by an effort of 
pure reason. His own explanations had cleared up the un- 
pleasant affair, and from that moment she had regarded him 
altogether with the eyes of a confiding partiality. The 
speech of Mrs. Bloomfield now sounded like words of doom 
to her, and for an instant her friend was frightened with the 
effects of her own imperfect communication. Until that 
moment Mrs. Bloomfield had formed no just idea of the 
extent to which the feelings of Eve were interested in Paul, 
for she had but an imperfect knowledge of their early as- 
sociation in Europe, and she sincerely repented having 
introduced the subject at all. It was too late to retreat. 


408 


HOME AS FOUND. 


however, and first folding Eve in her arms, and kissing her 
cold forehead, she hastened to repair a part, at least, of the 
mischief she had done. 

“ My words have been too strong, I fear,” she said, “ but 
such is my general horror of the manner in which the 
young of our sex, in this country, are abandoned to the 
schemes of the designing and selfish of the other, that I 
am, perhaps, too sensitive when I see any one that I love 
thus exposed. You are known, my dear, to be one of the 
richest heiresses of the country ; and I blush to say that no 
accounts of European society that we have, make fortune- 
hunting a more regular occupation there, than it has got to 
be here.” 

The paleness left Eve’s face, and a look of slight dis- 
pleasure succeeded. 

“ Mr. Powis is no fortune-hunter, Mrs. Bloomfield,” she 
said, steadily ; his whole conduct for three years has been 
opposed to such a character ; and then, though absolutely 
not rich, perhaps, he has a gentleman’s income, and is 
removed from the necessity of being reduced to such an act 
of baseness.” 

“ I perceive my error, but it is now too late to retreat. 
I do not say that Mr. Powis is a fortune-hunter, but there 
are circumstances connected with his history that you 
ought at least to know, and that immediately. I have 
chosen to speak to you, rather than to speak to your father, 
because I thought you might like a female confidante on 
such occasion, in preference even to your excellent natural 
protector. The idea of Mrs. Hawker occurred to me on 
account of her age ; but I did not feel authorized to com 
municate to her a secret of which I had myself become so 
accidentally possessed.” 

“ I appreciate your motive fully, deares Mrs. Bloomfield,” 
said Eve, smiling with all her native sweetness, and greatly 
relieved, for she now began to think that too keen a sensi- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


409 


tiveness on the subject of Paul had unnecessarily alarmed 
her, “ and beg there may be no reserves between us. If 
you know a reason why Mr. Powis should not be received 
as a suitor, I entreat you to mention it.” 

“ Is he Mr. Powis at all ? ” 

Again Eve smiled, to Mrs. Bloomfield’s great surprise, for, 
as the latter had put the question with sincere reluctance, 
she was astonished at the coolness with which it was re- 
ceived. 

“ He is not Mr. Powis legally, perhaps, though he might 
be, but that he dislikes the publicity of an application to 
the legislature. His paternal name is Assheton,” 

“You know his history, then ? ” 

“ There has been no reserve on the part of Mr. Powis ; 
least of all, any deception.” 

Mrs. Bloomfield appeared perplexed, even distressed ; and 
there was a brief space, during which her mind was un- 
decided as to the course she ought to take. That she had 
committed an error by attempting a consultation, in a 
matter of the heart, with one of her own sex, after the 
aff'ections were engaged, she discovered when it was too late ; 
but she prized Eve’s friendship too much, and had too just a 
sense of what was due to herself, to leave the affair where 
it was, or without clearing up her own unasked agency 
in it. 

“ I rejoice to learn this,” she said, as soon as her doubts 
had ended, “ for frankness, while it is one of the safest, is 
one of the most beautiful traits in human character ; but 
beautiful though it be, it is one that the other sex uses least 
to our own.” 

“ Is our own too ready to use it to the other ? ” 

“ Perhaps not ; it might be better for both parties were 
there less deception practised during the period of court- 
ship, generally ; but as this is hopeless, and might destroy 
some of the most pleasing illusions of life, we will not enter 
18 


410 


HOME AS FOUND. 


into a treatise on the frauds of Cupid. Now to my own 
confessions, which I make all the more willingly, because I 
know they are uttered to the ear of one of a forgiving 
temperament, and who is disposed to view even my follies 
favorably.” 

The kind but painful smile of Eve assured the speaker 
she was not mistaken, and she continued, after taking time 
to read the expression of the countenance of her young 
friend — 

“ In common with all of New York, that town of babbling 
misses, who prattle as water flows, without consciousness or 
effort, and of whiskered masters, who fancy Broadway the 
world, and the flirtations of miniature drawing-rooms, 
human nature, I believed on your return from Europe, that 
an accepted suitor followed in your train, in the person of 
Sir George Templemore.” 

“ Nothing in my deportment, or in that of Sir George, or 
in that of any of my family, could justly have given rise to 
such a notion,” said Eve, quickly. 

“ Justly ! What has justice, or truth, or even probability, 
to do with a report, of which love and matrimony are the 
themes ? Do you not know society better than to fancy 
this improbability, child ? ” 

“ I know that our own sex would better consult their own 
dignity and respectability, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, if they 
talked less of such matters ; and that they would be more 
apt to acquire the habits of good taste, not to say of good 
principles, if they confined their strictures more to things 
and sentiments than they do, and meddled less with persons.” 

“ And pray, is there no tittle-tattle, no scandal, no com- 
menting on one’s neighbors, in other civilized nations besides 
this ? ” 

“ Unquestionably ; though I believe, as a rule, it is every- 
where thought to be inherently vulgar, and a proof of low 
associations.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


411 


“ In that we are perfectly of a mind ; for if there be any- 
thing that betrays a consciousness of inferiority, it is our 
rendering others of so much obvious importance to our- 
selves, as to make them the subjects of our constant conver- 
sation. We may speak of virtues, for therein we pay a 
homage to that which is good ; but when we come to dwell 
on personal faults, it is rather a proof that we have a silent 
conviction of the superiority of the subject of our comments 
to ourselves, either in character, talents, social position, or 
something else that is deemed essential, than of our dis- 
taste for his failings. Who, for instance, talks scandal of 
his grocer or of his shoemaker ? No, no, our pride forbids 
this; we always make our betters the subjects of our 
strictures by preference, taking up with our equals only 
when we can get none of a higher class.” 

“ This quite reconciles me to having been given to Sir 
George Templemore, by the world of New York,” said Eve, 
smiling. 

“ And well it may, for they who have prattled of your 
engagement, have done so principally because they are inca- 
pable of maintaining a conversation on anything else. But, 
all this time, I fear I stand accused in your mind, of having 
given advice unasked, and of feeling an alarm in an affair 
that affected others, instead of myself, which is the very sin 
that we lay at the door of our worthy Manhattanese. In 
common with all around me, then, I fancied Sir George 
Templemore an accepted lover, and, by habit, had got to 
associate you together in my pictures. On my arrival here, 
however, I will confess that Mr. Powis, whom you will 
remember I had never seen before, struck me as much 
the most dangerous man. Shall I own all my absurd- 
ity ?” 

“ Even to the smallest shade.” 

“ Well, then, I confess to having supposed that, while 
the excellent father believed you were in a fair way to 


412 


HOME AS FOUND. 


become Lady Templemore, the equally excellent daughter 
thought the other suitor infinitely the most agreeable 
person.” 

“ What ! in contempt of a betrothal ?” 

“ Of course I at once ascribed that part of the report to 
the usual embellishments. We do not like to be deceived 
in our calculations, or to discover that even our gossip has 
misled us. In pure resentment at my own previous delu- 
sion, I began to criticise this Mr. Powis 

“ Criticise, Mrs. Bloomfield !” 

“ To find fault with him, my dear ; to try to think he was 
not just the handsomest and most engaging young man I 
had ever seen ; to imagine what ho ought to be, in place 
of what he was ; and among other things, to inquire who 
he was ?” 

“ You did not think proper to ask that question of any 
of us,” said Eve, gravely. 

“ I did not ; for I discovered by instinct, or intuition, or 
conjecture — they mean pretty much the same thing, I 
believe — that there was a mystery about him ; something 
that even his Templeton friends did not quite understand, 
and a lucky thought occurred of making my inquiries of 
another person.” 

“ They were answered satisfactorily,” said Eve, looking 
up at her friend with the artless confidence that marks 
her sex, when the affections have got the mastery of 
reason, 

“ Cosi^ cost. Bloomfield has a brother who is in the 
Navy, as you know, and I happened to remember that he 
had once spoken of an officer of the name of Powis, who 
had performed a clever thing in the West Indies, when they 
were employed together against the pirates. I wrote to 
him one of my usual letters, that are compounded of all 
things in nature and art, and took an occasion to allude to 
a certain Mr. Paul Powis, with a general remark that he 


HOME AS FOUND, 


413 


had formerly served, together with a particular inquiry if 
he knew anything about him. All this, no doubt, you 
think very ojQScious ; but believe me, dear Eve, where there 
was as much interest as I felt and feel in you, it was very 
natural.” 

“ So far from entertaining resentment, I am grateful 
for your concern, especially as I know it was manifested 
cautiously, and without any unpleasant allusions to third 
persons.” 

“In that respect I believe I did pretty well. Tom 
Bloomfield — I beg his pardon. Captain Bloomfield, for so he 
calls himself at present — knows Mr. Powis well ; or, rather 
did know him, for they have not met for years, and he 
speaks of his personal qualities and professional merit 
highly, but takes occasion to remark that there was some 
mystery connected with his birth, as before he joined the 
service he understood he was called Assheton, and at a 
later day, Powis, and this without any public law, or public 
avowal of a motive. Now, it struck me that Eve Effing- 
ham ought not to be permitted to form a connexion with a 
man so unpleasantly situated, without being apprised of the 
fact. I was waiting for a proper occasion to do this un- 
grateful ofiSce myself, when accident made me acquainted 
with what has passed this evening, and perceiving that 
there was no time to lose, I came hither, more led by inter- 
est in you, my dear, perhaps, than by discretion.” 

“ I thank you sincerely for this kind concern in my wel- 
fare, dear Mrs. Bloomfield, and give you full credit for 
the motive. Will you permit me to inquire how much you 
know of that which passed this evening ?” 

“ Simply that Mr. Powis is desperately in love— a declara- 
tion that I take is always dangerous to the peace of mind of 
a young woman, when it comes from a very engaging young 
man.” 

“ And my part of the dialogue — Eve blushed to the 


414 


HOME AS FOUND. 


eyes as she asked this question, though she made a great 
effort to appear calm — “ my answer ?” 

“ There was too much of woman in me — of true, genuine, 
loyal, native woman. Miss Effingham, to listen to that, had 
there been an opportunity. We were but a moment near 
enough to hear anything, though that moment sufficed to let 
us know the state of feelings of the gentleman. I ask no 
confidences, my dear Eve, and now that I have made my 
explanations, lame though they be, I will kiss you and 
repair to the drawing-room, where we shall both be soon 
missed. Forgive me, if I have seemed impertinent in my 
interferences, and continue to ascribe it to its true motive.” 

“ Stop, Mrs. Bloomfield, I entreat, for a single moment ; I 
wish to say a word before we part. As you have been acci- 
dentally made acquainted with Mr. Powis’s sentiments to- 
wards me, it is no more than just that you should know the 
nature of mine towards him ” 

Eve paused involuntarily, for though she had commenced 
her explanation with a firm intention to do justice to Paul, 
the bashfulness of her sex held her tongue tied, at the very 
moment her desire to speak was the strongest. An effort 
conquered the weakness, and the warm-hearted, generous- 
minded girl succeeded in commanding her voice. 

“ I cannot allow you to go away with the impression that 
there is a shade of any sort on the conduct of Mr. Powis,” 
she said. “ So far from desiring to profit by the accidents 
that have placed it in his power to render us such essential 
service, he has never spoken of his love until this evening, 
and then under circumstances in which feeling, naturally, 
perhaps I might say uncontrollably, got the ascendency.” 

“ I believe it all, for I feel certain Eve Effingham would 
not bestow her heart heedlessly.” 

“Heart!— Mrs. Bloomfield!” 

“ Heart, my dear; and now I insist on the subject’s being 
dropped, at least for the present. Your decision is proba- 


HOME AS FOUND. 


415 


bly not yet made — you are not yet an hour in possession of 
your suitor’s secret, and prudence demands deliberation. I 
shall hope to see you in the drawing-room, and until then, 
adieu.” 

Mrs. Bloomfield signed for silence, and quitted the room 
with the same light tread as that with which she had entered 
it. 


416 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


“ To show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and 
body of the time, his form and pressure.” 


Shakbpeaf 


When Mrs. Bloomfield entered the drawing-room, she 
found nearly the whole party assembled. The Fun of Fire 
had ceased, and the rockets no longer gleamed athwart the 
sky ; but the blaze of artificial light within, was more than 
a substitute for that which had so lately existed without. 

Mr. Eflfingham and Paul were conversing by themselves 
in a window-seat, while John Effingham, Mrs. Hawker, and 
Mr. Howel were in an animated discussion on a sofa ; Mr. 
AVenham had also joined the party, and was occupied with 
Captain Ducie, though not so much so as to prevent occa- 
sional glances at the trio just mentioned. Sir George Tem- 
plemore and Grace Van Cortlandt were walking together in 
the great hall, and were visible through the open door, as 
they passed and repassed. 

“ I am glad of your appearance among us, Mrs. Bloom- 
field,” said John Effingham, “for certainly more Anglo- 
mania never existed than that which my good friend Howel 
manifests this evening, and I have hopes that your eloquence 
may persuade him out of some of those notions, on which 
my logic has fallen like seed scattered by the wayside.” 

“ I can have little hopes of success where Mr. John Effing- 
ham has failed.” 

“ I am far from being certain of that ; for, somehow, 
Howel has taken up the notion that I have got a grudge 


HOME AS FOUND. 


417 


against England, and lie listens to all I say with distrust and 
distaste.” 

“ Mr. J ohn uses strong language habitually, ma’am,” cried 
Mr. Ilowel, “ and you will make some allowances for a voca- 
bulary that has no very mild terms in it; though, to be 
frank, I do confess that he seems prejudiced on the subject 
of that great nation.” 

“What is the point in immediate controversy, gentlemen?” 
asked Mrs. Bloomfield, taking a seat. 

“ Why here is a review of a late American work, ma’am, 
and I insist that the author is skinned alive, whereas Mr. 
John insists that the reviewer exposes only his own rage, 
the work having a national character, and running counter 
to the reviewer’s feelings and interests.” 

“ Nay, I protest against this statement of the case, for I 
affirm that the reviewer exposes a great deal more than his 
rage, since his imbecility, ignorance, and dishonesty are quite 
as apparent as anything else.” 

“I have read the article,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, after 
glancing her eye at the periodical, “ and I must say that I 
take sides with Mr. John Effingham in his opinion of its 
character.” 

“But do you not perceive, ma’am, that this is the idol of 
the nobility and gentry; the work that is more in favor 
with people of consequence in England than any other. 
Bishops are said to write for it !” 

“ I know it is a work expressly established to sustain one 
of the most factitious political systems that ever existed, and 
that it sacrifices every high quality to attain its end.” 

“ Mrs. Bloomfield, you amaze me ! The first writers of 
Great Britain figure in its pages.” 

“That I much question, in the first place ; but even if it 
were so, it would be but a shallow mystification. Although 
a man of character might write one article in a work of this 
nature, it does not follow that a man of no character does 
18 * 


418 


HOME AS FOUND. 


not write the next. The principles of the communications 
of a periodical are as different as their talents.” 

“ But the editor is a pledge for all. — The editor of this 
Review is an eminent writer himself.” 

“ An eminent writer may be a very great knave in the 
first place, and one fact is worth a thousand conjectures in 
such a matter. But we do not know that there is any re- 
sponsible editor to works of this nature at all, for there is no 
name given in the title-page, and nothing is more common 
than vague declarations of a want of this very responsibility. 
But if I can prove to you that this article cannot have been 
written by a man of common honesty, Mr. Howel, what 
will you then say to the responsibility of your editor?” 

“ In that case I shall be compelled to admit that he had 
no connexion with it.” 

“ Anything in preference to giving up the beloved idol !” 
said John Effingham, laughing. “ Why not add at once 
that he is as great a knave as the writer himself? I am 
glad, however, that Tom Howel has fallen into such good 
hands, Mrs. Bloomfield, and I devoutly pray you may not 
spare him.” 

We have said that Mrs. Bloomfield had' a rapid percep- 
tion of things and principles, that amounted almost to intui- 
tion. She had read the article in question, and as she 
glanced her eyes through its pages, had detected its fallacies 
and falsehoods in almost every sentence. Indeed, they had 
not been put together with ordinary skill, the writer having 
evidently presumed on the easiness of the class of readers 
who generally swallowed his round assertions, and were so 
clumsily done, that any one who had not the faith to move 
mountains would have seen through most of them without 
difficulty. But Mr. Howel belonged to another school, and 
he was so much accustomed to shut his eyes to the palpable 
mystification mentioned by Mrs. Bloomfield that a lie, which, 
advanced in most works, would have carried no weight with 


HOME AS POUND. 


419 


it, advanced in this particular periodical became elevated to 
the dignity of truth. 

Mrs. Bloomfield turned to an article on America, in the 
periodical in question, and read from it several disparaging 
expressions concerning Mr. Howefs native country, one of 
which was “ The American’s first plaything is the rattle- 
snake’s tail.” 

“ Now, what do you think of this assertion, in particular, 
Mr. Howel ?” she asked, reading the words we have just 
quoted. , 

“ Oh ! that is said in mere pleasantry — it is only 
wit.” 

“ Well, then, what do you think of it as wit?” 

“Well, well, it may not be of a very pure water, but the 
best of men are unequal at all times, and more especially in 
their wit.” 

“ Here,” continued Mrs. Bloomfield, pointing to another 
paragraph, “ is a positive statement or misstatement, which 
makes the cost of the ‘ civil department of the United States 
Government,’ about six times more than it really is.” 

“ Our government is so extremely mean that I ascribe that 
error to generosity.” 

“Well,” continued the lady, smiling, “here the reviewer 
asserts that Congress passed a law limiting the size of cer- 
tain ships, in order to please the democracy ; and that the 
Executive privately evaded this law, and built vessels of a 
much greater size ; whereas the provision of the law is just 
the contrary, or that the ships should not be less than of 
seventy-four guns ; a piece of information, by the way, that I 
obtained from Mr. Powis.” 

“ Ignorance, ma’am ; a stranger cannot be supposed to 
know all the laws of a foreign country.” 

“ Then why make bold and false assertions about them 
that are intended to discredit the country ? Here is ano- 
ther assertion — ‘ ten thousand of the men that fought at 


420 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Waterloo would have marched through North America?” 
Do you believe that, Mr. Howel ?” 

“ But that is merely an opinion, Mrs. Bloomfield ; any 
man may be wrong in his opinion.” 

“ Very true, but it is an opinion uttered in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight ; and 
after the battles of Bunker Hill, Cowpens, Plattsburgh, Sa- 
ratoga, and New Orleans ! And, moreover, after it had been 
proved that something very like ten thousand of the identi- 
cal men who fought at Waterloo could not march even ten 
miles into the country.” 

“ Well, well, all this shows that the reviewer is sometimes 
mistaken.” 

“Your pardon, Mr. Howel ; I think it shows, according to 
your own admission, that his wit, or rather its wit, for there 
is no his about it — that its wit is of a very indilferent quali- 
ty as witticisms even ; that it is ignorant of what it pretends 
to know ; and that its opinions are no better than its know- 
ledge : all of which, when fairly established against one 
who, by his very pursuit, professes to know more than 
other people, is very much like making it appear con- 
temptible.” 

“ This is going back eight or ten years — let us look more 
particularly at the article about which the discussion com- 
mences.” 

“ Volontiers.” 

Mrs. Bloomfield now sent to the library for the work re- 
viewed, and opening the review she read some of its stric- 
tures ; and then turning to the corresponding passages in the 
work itself, she pointed out the unfairness of the quotations, 
the omissions of the context, and in several fiagrant in- 
stances, witticisms of the reviewer, that were purchased at 
the expense of the English language. She next showed 
several of those audacious assertions, for which the particu- 
lar periodical was so remarkable, leaving no doubt with any 


HOME AS FOUND. 


421 


candid person, that they were purchased at the expense of 
truth. 

“ But here is an instance that will scarce admit of cavil- 
ling or objection on your part, Mr. Howel,” she continued ; 
“ do me the favor to read the passage in the review.” 

Mr. Howel complied, and when he had done, he looked 
expectingly at the lady^ 

“ The effect of the reviewer^s statement is to make it 
appear that the author has contradicted himself, is it 
not ?” 

“ Certainly, nothing can be plainer.’^ 

“ According to your favorite reviewer, who accuses him 
of it, in terms. Now let us look at the fact* Here is the 
passage in the work itself. In the first place, you will remark 
that this sentence which contains the alleged contradiction, 
is mutilated ; the part which is omitted, giving a directly 
contrary meaning to it, from that it bears under the review- 
er’s scissors.^^ 

“ It has some such appearance, I do confessk^^ 

“ Here you perceive that the closing sentence of the same 
paragraph, and which refers directly to the point at issue, 
is displaced, made to appear as belonging to a separate para- 
graph, and as conveying a different meaning from what the 
author has actually expressed.'’ 

“ Upon my w'ord, I do not know but you are right !” 

“Well, Mr. Howel, we have had wit of no very pure water, 
ignorance as relates ^o facts, and mistakes as regards very 
positive assertionsi In what category, as Captain Truck 
would say, do you place this?’' 

“ Why does not the author reviewed expose this ?” 

“Why does not a gentleman Wrangle with a detected 
pickpocket ?’' 

“It is literary swindling,” said John Effingham, “and the 
man who did it, is inherently a knave.’' 

“ I think both these facts quite beyond dispute,” observed 


422 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Mrs. Bloomfield, laying down Mr. Howel’s favorite review 
with an air of cool contempt ; “ and I must say I did not 
think it necessary to prove the general character of the work, 
at this late date, to any American of ordinary intelligence ; 
much less to a sensible man like Mr. How el.” 

“ But, ma’am, there may be much truth and justice in 
the rest of its remarks,” returned the pertinacious Mr. 
Howel, “ although it has fallen into these mistakes.” 

“Were you ever on a jury, Howel ?” asked John Effing- 
ham, in his caustic manner. 

“ Often, and on grand juries, too.” 

“ Well, did the judge never tell you, when a witness is 
detected in lying on one point, that his testimony is value- 
less on all others ?” 

“ Very true ; but this is a review, and not testimony.” 

“ The distinction is certainly a very good one,” resumed 
Mrs. Bloomfield, laughing, “ as nothing, in general, can be 
less like honest testimony than a review !” 

“ But I think, my dear ma’am, you will allow that all this 
is excessively biting and severe. I can’t say I ever read any- 
thing sharper in my life.” 

“ It strikes me, Mr. Howel, as being nothing but epithets, 
the cheapest and most contemptible of all species of abuse. 
Were two men, in your presence, to call each other such 
names, I think it would excite nothing but disgust in your 
mind. When the thought is clear and poignant, there is 
little need to have recourse to mere epithets. Indeed, men 
never use the latter, except when there is a deficiency of the 
first.” 

“ Well, well, my friends,” cried Mr. Howel, as he walked 
away towards Grace and Sir George, “this is a different 
thing from what I at first thought it ; but still I think you 
undervalue the periodical.” 

“ I hope this little lesson will cool some of Mr. Howel’s 
faith in foreign morality,” observed Mrs. Bloomfield, as soon 


HOME AS FOUND. 


423 


as the gentleman named was out of hearing ; “ a more credu- 
lous and devout worshipper of the idol, I have never before 
met.” 

“ The school is diminishing, but it is still large. Men like 
Tom Howel, who have thought in one direction all their 
lives, are not easily brought to change their notions, espe- 
cially when the admiration which proceeds from distance — 
distance, ‘ that lends enchantment to the view,’ — is at the 
bottom of their faith. Had this very article been written 
and printed round the corner of the street in which he 
lives, Howel would be the first to say that it was the pro- 
duction of a fellow without talents or principles, and was 
unworthy of a second thought.” 

“ I still think he will be a wiser if not a better man, by 
the exposure of its frauds.” 

“Not he. If you will excuse a homely and a coarse 
simile, ‘ he will return like a dog to his vomit, or the sow 
to its wallowing in the mire.’ I never knew one of that 
school thoroughly cured, until he became himself the sub- 
ject of attack, or, by a close personal communication, was 
made to feel the superciliousness of European superiority. 
It is only a week since I had a discussion with him on the 
subject of the humanity and the relish for liberty in his 
beloved model ; and when I cited the instance of the 
employment of the tomahawk, in the wars between England 
and this country, he actually affirmed that the Indian sava- 
'^es killed no women and children but the wives and off- 
spring of their enemies ; and when I told him that the 
English, like most other people, cared very little for any 
liberty but their own, he coolly affirmed that their own was 
the only liberty worth caring for !” 

“ Oh, yes,” put in young Mr. Wenham, who had over- 
heard the latter portion of the conversation, “ Mr. Howel is 
so thoroughly English, that he actually denies that America 
is the most civilized country in the world, or that we speak 


424 


HOME AS FOUND. 


our language better than any nation was ever before known 
to speak its own language.” 

“ This is so manifest an act of treason,” said Mrs. Bloom- 
field, endeavoring to look grave; for Mr. Wenham was any- 
thing but accurate in the use of words himself, commonly 
pronouncing “been,” “ben,” “does,” “dooze,” “nothing,” 
“ nawthing,” “ few,” “ foo,” &c. &c. &c. “ that, certainly, 
Mr. Howel should be arraigned at the bar of public opinion 
for the outrage.” 

“ It is commonly admitted, even by our enemies, that our 
mode of speaking is the very best in the world, which, I 
suppose, is the real reason why our literature has so rapidly 
reached the top of the ladder.” 

“ And is that the fact ?” asked Mrs. Bloomfield, with a 
curiosity that was not in the least feigned. 

“ I believe no one denies that. You will sustain me in 
this, I fancy, Mr. Dodge 

The editor of the Active Inquirer had approached, and 
was just in time to catch the subject in discussion. Now the 
modes of speech of these two persons, while they had a 
great deal in common, had also a great deal that was not in 
common. Mr. Wenham was a native of New York, and his 
dialect was a mixture that is getting to be sufficiently gene- 
ral, partaking equally of the Doric of New England, the 
Dutch cross, and the old English root ; whereas Mr. Dodge 
spoke the pure» unalloyed Tuscan of his province, rigidly 
adhering to all its sounds and significations. “ Dissipation,” 
he contended, meant “ drunkenness “ ugly,” “ vicious ;” 
“ clever,” “good-natured ;” and “ humbly,” (homely) “ugly.” 
In addition to this finesse in significations, he had a variety 
of pronunciations that often put strangers at fault, and to 
which he adhered with a pertinacity that obtained some of 
its force from the fact that it exceeded his power to get rid 
of them. Notwithstanding all these little peculiarities — 
peculiarities as respects every one but those who dwelt in 


HOME AS FOUND. 


426 


bis own province, Mr. Dodge had also taken up the notion 
of his superiority on the subject of language, and always 
treated the matter as one that was placed quite beyond dis- 
pute, by its publicity and truth. 

“ The progress of American Literature,” returned the edi- 
tor, “ is really astonishing the four quarters of the world. I 
believe it is very generally admitted, now, that our pulpit 
and bar are at the very summit of these two professions. 
Then we have much the best poets of the age, while eleven 
of our novelists surpass any of all other countries. The 
American Philosophical Society is, I believe, generally con- 
sidered the most acute learned body now existing, unless, 
indeed, the New York Historical Society may compete with 
it for that honor. Some persons give the palm to one, and 
some to the other ; though I myself think it would be dif- 
ficult to decide between them. Then to what a pass has 
the drama risen of late years ! Genius is getting to be quite 
a drug in America !” 

“ You have forgotten to speak of the press, in particular,” 
put in the complacent Mr. Wenham. “ I think we may 
more safely pride ourselves on the high character of the 
press than anything else.” 

“Why, to tell you the truth, sir,” answered Steadfast, 
taking the other by the arm, and leading him so slowly 
away, that a part of what followed was heard by the two 
amused listeners, “ modesty is so infallibly the companion 
of merit, that we who are engaged in that high pursuit, do 
not like to say anything in our own favor. You never detect 
a newspaper in the weakness of extolling itself; but, between 
ourselves, I may say, after a close examination of the condi- 
tion of the press in other countries, I have come to the con- 
clusion, that, for talents, taste, candor, philosophy, genius, 
honesty, and truth, the press of the United States stands 
at the very ” 

Here Mr. Dodge passed so far from the listeners, that the 


426 


HOME AS FOUND. 


rest of tlie speech became inaudible, though from the well 
established modesty of the man and the editor, there can be 
little doubt of the manner in which he concluded the sen- 
tence. 

“ It is said in Europe,” observed John EfBngham, his fine 
face expressing the cool sarcasm in which he was so apt to 
indulge, “ that there are la vieille and la Jeune France. I 
think we have now had pretty fair specimens of old and 
young America ; the first distrusting everything native, even 
to a potatoe : and the second distrusting nothing, and least 
of all, itself.” 

“ There appears to be a sort of pendulum-uneasiness in 
mankind,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, “ that keeps opinion always 
vibrating around the centre of truth, for I think it the rarest 
thing in the world to find man or woman who has not a 
disposition, as soon as an error is abandoned, to fly off into 
its opposite extreme. From believing we had nothing 
worthy of a thought, there is a set springing up who appear 
to have jumped to the conclusion that we have everything.” 

“ Aye, this is one of the reasons that all the rest of the 
world laugh at us.” 

“ Laugh at us, Mr. Efiingham ! Even I had supposed the 
American name had, at last, got to be in good credit in 
other parts of the world.” 

“ Then even you, my dear Mrs. Bloomfield, are notably 
mistaken. Europe, it is true, is beginning to give us credit 
for not being quite as bad as she once thought us ; but we 
are far, very far, from being yet admitted to the ordinary 
level of nations, as respects goodness.” 

“ Surely they give us credit for energy, enterprise, 
activity 

“ Qualities that they prettily term, rapacity, cunning, and 
swindling ! I am far, very far, however, from giving credit 
to all that it suits the interests and prejudices of Europe, 
especially of our venerable kinswoman. Old England, to 


HOME AS FOUND. 


427 


circulate and think to the prejudice of this country, which, 
in my poor judgment, has as much substantial merit to 
boast of as any nation on earth ; though, in getting rid of a 
set of ancient vices and follies, it has not had the sagacity 
to discover that it is fast falling into pretty tolerable, or, if 
you like it better, intolerable substitutes.” 

“ What then do you deem our greatest error — our weakest 
point ? ” 

“Provincialisms, with their train of narrow prejudices, 
and a disposition to set up mediocrity as perfection, under 
the double influence of an ignorance that unavoidably arises 
from a want of models, and of the irresistible tendency to 
mediocrity, in a nation where the common mind so imperi- 
ously rules.” 

“ But does not the common mind rule everywhere ? Is 
not public opinion always stronger than law ? ” 

“In a certain sense, both these positions may be true. 
But in a nation like this, without a capital, one that is all 
provinces, in which intelligence and tastes are scattered, 
this common mind wants the usual direction, and derives 
its impulses from the force of numbers, rather than from 
the force of knowledge. Hence the fact, that the public 
opinion never or seldom rises to absolute truth. I grant 
you that, as a mediocrity, it is well ; much better than com- 
mon even ; but it is still a mediocrity.” 

“ I see the justice of your remark, and I suppose we are 
to ascribe the general use of superlatives, which is so very 
obvious, to these causes.” 

“ Unquestionably ; men have got to be afraid to speak 
the truth, when that truth is a little beyond the common 
comprehension ; and thus it is that you see the fulsome 
flattery that all the public servants, as they call themselves, 
resort to, in order to increase their popularity, instead of 
telling the wholesome facts that are needed.” 

“ And what is to be the result ? ” 


I 


428 


HOME AS FOUND, 


“ Heaven knows. While America is so much in advance 
of other nations, in a freedom from prejudices of the old 
school, it is fast substituting a set of prejudices of its own, 
that are not without serious dangers. We may live through 
it, and the ills of society may correct themselves, though 
there is one fact that menaces more evil than anything I 
could have feared.” 

“You mean the political struggle between money and 
numbers, that has so seriously manifested itself of late ! ” 
exclaimed the quick-minded and intelligent Mrs. Bloomfield. 

“ That has its dangers ; but there is still another evil of 
greater magnitude. I allude to the very general disposition 
to confine political discussions to political men. Thus, the 
private citizen, who should presume to discuss a political 
question, would be deemed fair game for all who thought 
differently from himself. He would be injured in his pocket, 
reputation, domestic happiness, if possible ; for, in this 
respect, America is much the most intolerant nation I have 
ever visited. In all other countries in which discussion is 
permitted at all, there is at least the appearance of fair play, 
whatever may be done covertly ; but here it seems to be 
sufiicient to justify falsehood, frauds, nay, barefaced rascality, 
to establish that the injured party has had the audacity to 
meddle with public questions, not being what the public 
chooses to call a public man. It is scarcely necessary to 
say that when such an opinion gets to be effective, it must 
entirely defeat the real intentions of a popular government.” 

“ Now you mention it,” said Mrs. Bloomfield, “ I think I 
have witnessed instances of what you- mean.” 

“ AVitnessed, dear Mrs. Bloomfield ! Instances are to be 
seen as often as a man is found freeman enough to have 
an opinion independent of party. It is not for connecting 
himself with party that a man is denounced in this country, 
but for daring to connect himself with truth. Party will 
bear with party, but party will not bear with truth. It is in 


HOME AS FOUND. 


429 


politics as in war, regiments or individuals may desert, and 
they will be received by their late enemies with open arms, 
the honor of a soldier seldom reaching to the pass of refusing 
succor of any sort ; but both sides will turn and fire on the 
countrymen who wish merely to defend their homes and 
firesides.” 

“ You draw disagreeable pictures of human nature, Mr. 
Effingham.” 

“ Merely because they are true, Mrs. Bloomfield. Man 
is worse than the beasts, merely because he has a code of 
right and wrong which he never respects. They talk of 
the variation of the compass, and even pretend to calculate 
its changes, though no one can explain the principle that 
causes the attraction or its vagaries at all. So it is with 
men ; they pretend to look always at the right, though their 
eyes are constantly directed obliquely ; and it is a certain 
calculation to allow of a pretty wide variation — but hero 
comes Miss EflSngham, singularly well attired, and more 
beautiful than I have ever before seen her ! ” 

The two exchanged quick glances, and then, as if fearful 
of betraying to each other their thoughts, they moved 
towards our heroine, to do the honors of the reception. 


430 


HOME AS FOUND. 


CHAPTER XXYI. 

“ Haply, when I shall wed, 

That lord, whose hand must take my plight, shall carry 
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.” 

COBDELIA. 

As no man could be more gracefully or delicately polite 
than John Effingham when the humor seized him, Mrs. 
Bloomfield was struck with the kind and gentlemanlike 
manner with which he met his young kinswoman on this 
trying occasion, and the affectionate tones of his voice, and 
the winning expression of his eye, as he addressed her. 
Eve herself was not unobservant of these peculiarities, nor 
was she slow in comprehending the reason. She perceived 
at once that he was acquainted with the state of things 
between her and Paul. As she well knew the womanly 
fidelity of Mrs. Bloomfield, she rightly enough conjectured 
that the long observation of her cousin, coupled with the 
few words accidentally overheard that evening, had even 
made him better acquainted with the true condition of her 
feelings, than was the case with the friend with whom she 
had so lately been conversing on the subject. 

Still Eve was not embarrassed by the conviction that her 
secret was betrayed to so many persons. Her attachment 
to Paul was not the impulse of girlish caprice, but the warm 
affection of a woman, that had grown with time, w’as sanc- 
tioned by her reason, and which, if it was tinctured with the 
more glowing imagination and ample faith of youth, was 
also sustained by her principles and her sense of right. She 
knew that both her father and cousin esteemed the man of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


431 


her own choice, nor did she believe the little cloud that hung 
over his birth could do more than have a temporary influence 
on his own sensitive feelings. She met John Effingham, 
therefore, with a frank composure, returned the kind pressure 
of his hand with a smile such as a daughter might bestow 
on an affectionate parent, and turned to salute the remain- 
der of the party with that lady-like ease which had got to 
be a part of her nature. 

“There goes one of the most attractive pictures that 
humanity can offer,” said John Effingham to Mrs. Bloom- 
field, as Eve walked away ; “ a young, timid, modest, sensi- 
tive girl, so strong in her principles, so conscious of rectitude, 
so pure of thought, and so warm in her aflfections, that she 
views her selection of a husband, as others view their acts 
of duty and religious faith. With her love has no shame, 
as it has no weakness.” 

“ Eve Effingham is as faultless as comports with woman- 
hood ; and yet I confess ignorance of my own sex, if she 
receive Mr. Fowls as calmly as she received her cousin.” 

“ Perhaps not, for in that case she could scarcely feel the 
passion. You perceive that he avoids oppressing her with 
his notice, and that the meeting passes off without embar- 
rassment. I do believe there is an elevating principle in 
love, that, by causing us to wish to be Avorthy of the object 
most prized, produces the desired effects by stimulating 
exertion. There, now, are tAVO as perfect beings as one 
ordinarily meets Avith, each oppressed by a sense of his oi- 
lier unworthiness to be the choice of the other.” 

“ Does love, then, teach humility ; successful love, too ?” 

“Does it not? It Avould be hardly fair to press this 
matter on you, a married Avoman ; for, by the pandects of 
American society, a man may philosophize on love, prattle 
about it, trifle on the subject, and even analyse the passion 
with a miss in her teens, and yet he shall not allude to it, in 
a discourse with a matron. Well, chacun a son gout ; avc 


432 


HOME AS FOUND. 


are, indeed, a little peculiar in our usages, and have promot- 
ed a good deal of village coquetry, and the flirtations of the 
maypole, to the drawing-room.” 

“ Is it not better that such follies should be confined to 
youth, than that they should invade the sanctity of married 
life, as I understand is too much the case elsewhere ?” 

“ Perhaps so ; though I confess it is easier to dispose of 
a straightforward proposition from a mother, a father, or a 
commissioned friend, than to get rid of a young lady, who, 
proprid persond^ angles on her own account. While abroad, 
I had a dozen proposals ” 

“ Proposals !” exclaimed Mrs. Bloomfield, holding up both 
hands, and shaking her head incredulously. 

“ Proposals ! Why not, ma’am ? — am I more than fifty ? 
am I not reasonably youthful for that period of life, and have 
I not six or eight thousand a year 

“ Eighteen, or you are much scandalized.” 

“Well, eighteen, if you will,” coolly returned the other, in 
whose eyes money was no merit, for he was born to a for- 
tune, and always treated it as a means, and not as the end 
of life ; “ every dollar is a magnet, after one has turned forty. 
Do you suppose that a single man, of tolerable person, well 
born, and with a hundred thousand francs of rentes, could 
entirely escape proposals from the ladies in Europe ?” 

“This is so revolting to all our American notions that, 
though I have often heard of such things, I have always 
found it difficult to believe them !” 

“ And is it more revolting for the friends of young ladies 
to look out for them, on such occasions, than that the young 
ladies should take the affair into their own hands, as is prac- 
tised quite as openly here ?” 

“It is well you are a confirmed bachelor, or declarations 
like these would mar your fortunes. I will admit that the 
school is not as retiring and diffident as formerly ; for we 
are all ready enough to say that no times are equal to our 


HOME AS FOUND. 


433 


own times; but i shall strenuously protest against your 
interpretation of the nature and artlessness of an xVmerican 
girl.” 

“Artlessness!” repeated John Effingham, with a slight 
lifting of the eyebrows ; “ we live in an age when new 
dictionaries and vocabularies are necessary to understand 
each other’s meaning. It is artlessness with a vengeance, 
to beset an old fellow of fifty as one would besiege a town. 
Hist! Ned is retiring with his daughter, my dear Mrs. 
Bloomfield, and it will not be long before I shall be sum- 
moned to a family council. Well, we will keep the secret 
until it is publicly proclaimed.” 

John Effingham was right, for his two cousins left the 
room together and retired to the library, but in a way to 
attract no particular attention, except in those who were 
enlightened on the subject of what had already passed that 
evening. When they were alone Mr. Effingham turned the 
key, and then he gave a free vent to his paternal feelings. 

Between Eve and her parent there had always existed a 
confidence exceeding that which it is common to find between 
father and daughter. In one sense they had been all in all 
to each other, and Eve had never hesitated about pouring 
those feelings into his breast which, had she possessed another 
parent, would more naturally have been confided to the 
affection of a mother. When their eyes first met, therefore, 
they were mutually beaming with an expression of confidence 
and love, such as might, in a measure, have been expected 
between two of the gentler sex. Mr. Effingham folded his, 
child to his heart, pressed her there tenderly for near a 
minute in silence, and then kissing her burning cheek he 
permitted her to look up. 

“ This answers all my fondest hopes. Eve !” he exclaimed ; 
“ fulfils my most cherished wishes for thy sake.” 

“ Dearest sir !” 

“Yes, my love, I have long secretly prayed that such 
19 


434 


HOME AS FOUND. 


might be your good fortune ; for, of all the youths we have 
met, at home or abroad, Paul Powis is the one to whom I 
can consign you with the most confidence that he will cherish 
and love you as you deserve to be cherished and loved !” 

“ Dearest father, nothing but this was wanting to com.plete 
my perfect happiness.” 

Mr. Efiingham kissed his daughter again, and he was 
then enabled to pursue the conversation with greater com- 
posure. 

“Powis and I have had a full explanation,” he said, 
“ though in order to obtain it I have been obliged to give 
him strong encouragement ” 

“ Father !” 

“Nay, my love, your delicacy and feelings have been 
sufficiently respected, but he has so much diffidence of him- 
self, and permits the unpleasant circumstances connected 
with his birth to weigh so much on his mind, that I have 
been compelled to tell him, what I am sure you will approve, 
that we disregard family connexions, and look only to the 
merit of the individual.” 

“ I hope, father, nothing was said to give Mr. Powis reason 
to suppose we did not deem him every way our equal.” 

“ Certainly not. He is a gentleman, and I can claim to 
be no more. There is but one thing in which connexions 
ought to influence an American marriage, where the parties 
are suited to each other in the main requisites, and that is 
to ascertain that neither should be carried, necessarily, into 
associations for which their habits have given them too much 
and too good tastes to enter into. A woman especially 
ought never to be transplanted from a polished to an unpo- 
lished circle ; for, when this is the case, if really a lady, there 
will be a dangerous clog on her affection for her husband. 
This one great point assured, I see no other about which a 
parent need feel concern.” 

“Powis, unhappily, has no connexions in this country; 


HOME AS FOUND. 


435 


or none with whom he has any communications ; and those 
he has in England are of a class to do him credit.” 

“We have been conversing of this, and he has manifested 
so much proper feeling that it has even raised him in my 
esteem. I knew his father’s family, and must have known 
his father, I think, though there were two or three Asshetons 
of the name of John. It is a highly respectable family of 
the Middle States, and belonged formerly to the , colonial 
aristocracy. Jack Effingham’s mother was an Assheton.” 

“Of the same blood do you think, sir? I remembered 
this when Mr. Powis mentioned his father’s name, and 
intended to question cousin Jack on the subject.” 

“ Now you speak of it. Eve, there must be a relation- 
ship between them. Bo you suppose that our kinsman 
is acquainted with the fact that Paul is, in truth, an 
Assheton ?” 

Eve told her father that she had never spoken with their 
relative on the subject at all. 

“ Then ring the bell, and we will ascertain at once how far 
my conjecture is true. You can have no false delicacy, my 
child, about letting your engagement be known to one as 
near and as dear to us as John.” 

“ Engagement, father !” 

“Yes, engagement,” returned the smiling parent, “for 
such I already deem it. I have ventured, in your behalf, to 
plight your troth to ]’aul Powis, or what is almost equal to 
it ; and in return I can give you back as many protestations 
of unequalled fidelity and eternal constancy, as any reason- 
able girl can ask.” 

Eve gazed at her father in a way to show that reproach 
was mingled with fondness, for she felt that, in this instance, 
too much of the precipitation of the other sex had been 
manifested in her affairs; still, superior to coquetry and 
affectation, and much too warm in her attachments to be 
seriously hurt, she kissed the hand she held, shook her head 


436 


HOME AS FOUND. 


reproachfully, even while she smiled, and did as had been 
desired. 

“You have, indeed, rendered it important to us to know 
more of Mr. Powis, my beloved father,” she said, as she 
returned to her seat, “ though I could wish matters had not 
proceeded quite so fast.” 

“ Nay, all I promised was conditional, and dependent on 
yourself. You have nothing to do, if I have said too much, 
but to refuse to ratify the treaty made by your negotiator.” 

“You propose an impossibility,” said Eve, taking the 
hand again that she had so lately relinquished, and pressing 
it warmly between her own ; “ the negotiator is too much 
revered, has too strong a right to command, and is too much 
confided in to be thus dishonored. Father, I will, I do, 
ratify all you have, all you can promise in my behalf.” 

“ Even if 1 annul the treaty, darling ?” 

“ Even in that case, father. I will marry none without 
your consent, and have so absolute a confidence in your 
tender care of me, that I do not even hesitate to say I will 
marry him to whom you eontract me.” 

“ Bless you, bless you. Eve ; I do believe you, for such 
have I ever found you since thought has had any control 
over your actions. Desire Mr. John EflBngham to come 
hither” — then, as the servant closed the door, he continued 
“ and such I believe you will continue to be until your 
dying day.” 

“ Nay, reckless, careless father, you forget that you your- 
self have been instrumental in transferring my duty and 
obedience to another. What if this sea-monster should 
prove a tyrant, throw off the mask, and show himself in his 
real colors ? Arc you prepared, then, thoughtless, precipi- 
tate parent” — Eve kissed Mr. Effingham’s cheek with child- 
ish playfulness, as she spoke, her heart swelling with hap- 
piness the whole time, “ to preach obedience where obedi- 
ence would then be due ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


437 


“ Hush, precious — I hear the step of Jack ; he must not 
catch us fooling in this manner.” 

Eve rose ; and when her kinsman entered the room, she 
held out her hand kindly to him, though it was with an 
averted face and a tearful eye. 

“ It is time I was summoned,” said John Effingham, after 
he had drawn the blushing girl to him and kissed her fore- 
head, “ for what between tete-d-tUes with young fellows, 
and tete-d-tetes with old fellows, this evening, I began to 
think myself neglected. I hope I am still in time to render 
my decided disapprobation available ?” 

“Cousin Jack!” exclaimed Eve, with a look of reproach- 
ful mockery, “ you are the last person who ought to speak 
of disapprobation, for you have done little else but sing the 
praises of the applicant, since you first met him.” 

“ Is it even so ? then, like others, I must submit to the 
consequences of my own precipitation and false conclusions. 
Am I summoned to inquire how many thousands a year I 
shall add to the establishment of the new couple ? As I 
hate business, say five at once : and when the papers are 
ready, I will sign them without reading.” 

“ Most generous cynic,” cried Eve, “ I would I dared 
now to ask a single question!” 

“ Ask it without scruple, young lady, for this is the day 
of your independence and power. I am mistaken in the 
man, if Powis do not prove to be the captain of his own 
ship in the end.” 

“ Well, then, in whose behalf is this liberality really 
meant ; mine, or that of the gentleman ?” 

“ Fairly enough put,” said John Effingham, laughing 
again, drawing Eve towards him and saluting her cheek ; 
“ for if I were on the rack, I could scarcely say which I 
love best, although you have the consolation of knowing, 
pert one, that you get the most kisses.” 

“ I am almost in the same state of feeling myself, John, 


438 


HOME AS FOUND. 


for a son of my own could scarcely be dearer to me than 
Paul.” 

“ I see, indeed, that I must marry,” said Eve hastily, 
dashing the tears of delight from her eyes, for what could 
give more delight than to hear the praises of her beloved, 
“ if I wish to retain my place in your affections. But, 
father, we forget the question you were to put to cousin 
Jack.” 

“ True, love. John, your mother was an Assheton ?” 

“ Assuredly, Ned ; you are not to learn my pedigree at 
this time of day, I trust.” 

“ We are anxious to make out a relationship between you 
and Paul ; can it not be done ?” 

“ I would give half my fortune. Eve consenting, were it 
so ! — What reason is there for supposing it probable, or 
even possible ?” 

“ You know that he bears the name of his friend, and 
adopted parent, while that of his family is really Asshe- 
ton.” 

“ Assheton !” exclaimed the other, in a way to show that 
this was the first he had ever heard of the fact. 

“ Certainly ; and as there is but one family of this name, 
which is a little peculiar in the spelling — for here it is spelt 
by Paul himself, on this card — we have thought that he 
must be a relation of yours. I hope we are not to be disap- 
pointed.” 

“ Assheton ! — It is, as you say, an unusual name ; nor is 
there more than one family that bears it in this country, to 
my knowledge. Can it be possible that Powis is truly an 
Assheton !” 

“ Out of all doubt,” Eve eagerly exclaimed ; “ we have it 
from his own mouth. His father was an Assheton, and his 
mother was ” 

“Who?” demanded John Effingham, with a vehemence 
that startled his companions. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


439 


“ Nay, that is more than I can tell you, for he did not 
mention the family name of his mother ; as she was a sister 
of Lady Dunluce, however, who is the wife of General Ducic, 
the father of our guest, it is probable her name was Dun- 
luce.” 

“ I remember no relative that has made such a marriaa:e, 
or who can have made such a marriage ; and yet do I per- 
sonally and intimately know every Assheton in the coun- 
try.” 

Mr. Effingham and his daughter looked at each other, for it 
at once struck them all painfully, that there must be Asshe- 
tons of another family. 

“ Were it not for the peculiar manner in which this name 
is spelled,” said Mr. Effingham, “ I could suppose that there 
are Asshetons of whom we know nothing ; but it is diffi- 
cult to believe that there can be such persons of a respecta- 
ble family of whom we never heard, for Powis said his rela- 
tives were of the Middle States ” 

“And that his mother was called Dunluce?” demanded 
John Effingham earnestly, for he too appeared to wish to 
discover an affinity between himself and Paul. 

“ Nay, father, this I think he did not say ; though it is 
quite probable ; for the title of his aunt is an ancient baro- 
ny, and those ancient baronies usually became the family 
name.” 

“ In this you must be mistaken. Eve, since he mentioned 
that the right was derived through his mother’s mother, 
who was an Englishwoman.” 

“ Why not send for him at once and put the question ?” 
said the simple-minded Mr. Effingham; “next to having 
him for my own son, it would give me pleasure, John, to 
learn that he was lawfully entitled to that which I know 
you have done in his behalf.” 

“ That is impossible,” returned John Effingham. “ I am 
an only child, and as for cousins through my mother, there 


440 


HOME AS FOUND. 


are so many who stand in an equal degree of affinity tome, 
that no one in particular can be my heir-at-law'. If there 
were, I am an Effingham ; my estate came from Effing- 
hams, and to an Effingham it should descend in spite of all 
the Asshetons in America.” 

“Paul Powis included!” exclaimed Eve, raising a finger 
reproachfully. 

“ True, to him I have left a legacy ; but it was to a Powis, 
and not to an Assheton.” 

“ And yet he declares himself legally an Assheton, and 
not a Powis.” 

“ Say no more of this. Eve ; it is unpleasant to me. I 
hate the name of Assheton, though it was my mother’s, and 
could wish never to hear it again.” 

Eve and her father were mute, for their kinsman, usually 
so proud and self-restrained, spoke with suppressed emotion, 
and it was plain that, for some hidden cause, he felt even 
more than he expressed. The idea that there should be any- 
thing about Paul that could render him an object of dislike 
to one as dear to her as her cousin, was inexpressibly pain- 
ful to the former, and she regretted that the subject had 
ever been introduced. Not so with her father. Simple, 
direct, and full of truth, Mr. Effingham rightly enough 
believed that mysteries in a family could lead to no good, 
and he repeated his proposal of sending for Paul, and hav- 
ing the matter cleared up at once. 

“You are too reasonable. Jack,” he concluded, “to let 
an antipathy against a name that was your mother’s, inter- 
fere with your sense of right. I know that some unpleasant 
questions arose concerning your succession to my aunt’s for- 
tune, but that was all settled in your favor twenty years ago, 
and I had thought to your entire satisfaction.” 

“ Unhappily, family quarrels are ever the most bitter, and 
usually they are the least reconcilable,” returned John 
Effingham, evasively. “ I would that this young man’s 


HOME AS FOUND. 


441 


name were anything but Assbeton ! I do not wish to see 
Eve plighting her faith at the altar to any one bearing that 
accursed name !” 

“ I shall plight my faith, if ever it be done, dear cousin 
John, to the man, and not to his name.” 

“ No, no — he must keep the appellation of Powis by 
which we have all learned to love him, and to which he has 
done so much credit.” 

“ This is very strange. Jack, for a man who is usually as 
discreet and as well regulated as yourself. I again propose 
that we send for Paul, and ascertain precisely to what branch 
of this so-much-dislikcd family he really belongs.” 

“ No, father, if you love me, not now !” cried Eve, arrest- 
ing Mr. Effingham’s hand as he touched the bell-cord ; “ it 
would appear distrustful, and even cruel, were we to enter 
into such an inquiry so soon. Powis might think we valued 
his family more than we do himself.” 

“ Eve is right, Ned ; but I will not sleep without learning 
all. There is an unfinished examination of the papers left 
by poor Monday, and I will take an occasion to summon 
Paul to its completion, when an opportunity will offer^ to 
renew the subject of his own history ; for it was at the other 
investigation that he first spoke frankly to me concerning 
himself.” 

“ Do so, cousin Jack, and let it be at once,” said Eve, 
earnestly. “ I can trust you with Powis alone, for I know 
how much you respect and esteem him in your heart. See, 
it is already ten.” 

“But he will naturally wish to spend the close of an 
evening like this engaged in investigating something very 
different from Mr. Monday’s tale,” returned her cousin; 
the smile with which he spoke chasing away the look of 
chilled aversion that had so lately darkened his noble 
features. 

“ No, not to-night,” answered the blushing Eve. “ I have 
19 * 


442 


HOME AS FOUND. 


confessed weakness enough for one day. To-morrow, if you 
will — if he will, — but not to-night. I shall retire with Mrs. 
Hawker, who already complains of fatigue ; and you will 
send for Powis to meet you in your own room, without un- 
necessary delay.” 

Eve kissed John Effingham coaxingly, and as they walked 
together out of the library, she pointed towards the door 
that led to the chambers. Her cousin laughingly complied, 
and when in his own room, he sent a message to Paul to 
join him. 

“ Now, indeed, may I call you a kinsman,” said John 
Effingham, rising to receive the young man, towards whom 
he advanced, with extended hands, in his most winning 
manner. “ Eve’s frankness and your own discernment have 
made us a happy family !” 

“ If anything could add to the felicity of being accept- 
able to Miss Effingham,” returned Paul, struggling to com- 
mand his feelings, “ it is the manner in which her father and 
yourself have received my poor offers.” 

“ Well, we will now speak of it no more. I saw from 
the first which way things were tending, and it was my 
plain-dealing that opened the eyes of Templemore to the 
impossibility of his ever succeeding, by which means his 
heart has been kept from breaking.” 

“Oh! Mr. Effingham, Templemore never loved Eve 
Effingham 1 I thought so once, and he thought so, too ; but 
it could not have been a love like mine.” 

“It certainly differed in the essential circumstance of 
reciprocity, which, in itself, singularly qualifies the passion, 
so far as duration is concerned. Templemore did not exactly 
know the reason why he preferred Eve ; but, having seen so 
much of the society in which he lived, I was enabled to ' 
detect the cause. Accustomed to an elaborate sophistication, 
the singular union of refinement and nature caught his fancy, 
for the English seldom see the last separated from vulgarity ; 


HOME AS FOUND. 


443 


and when it is found, softened by a high intelligence and 
polished manners, it has usually great attractions for the 
hlas^sP 

“ He is fortunate in having so readily found a substitute 
for Eve Effingham !” 

“ This change is not unnatural, either. In the first place, 
I, with this truth-telling tongue, destroyed all hope before 
he had committed himself by a declaration ; and then Grace 
Van Cortlandt possesses the great attraction of nature in a 
degree quite equal to that of her cousin. Besides, Temple- 
more, though a gentleman, and a brave man, and a worthy 
one, is not remarkable for qualities of a very extraordinary 
kind. He will be as happy as is usual for an Englishman of 
his class to be, and he has no particular right to expect 
more. I sent for you, however, less to talk of love than to 
trace its unhappy consequences in this affair, revealed by 
the papers of poor Monday. It is time we acquitted our- 
selves of that trust. Do me the favor to open the dressing- 
case that stands on the toilet-table ; you will find in it the 
key that belongs to the bureau, where I have placed the 
secretaire that contains the papers.” 

Paul did as desired. The dressing-case was complicated 
and large, having several compartments, none of which were 
fastened. In the first opened, he saw a miniature of a female 
so beautiful that his eye rested on it, as it might be, by a 
fascination. Notwithstanding some difference produced by 
the fashions of different periods, the resemblance to the 
object of his love was obvious at a glance. Borne away by 
the pleasure of the discovery, and actually believing that he 
saw a picture of Eve, drawn in a dress that did not in a 
great degree vary from the present attire, fashion having 
undergone no very striking revolution in the last twenty 
years, he exclaimed — 

“This is indeed a treasure, Mr. Effingham, and most 
sincerely do I envy you its possession. It is like, and yet, 


444 


HOME AS FOUND. 


in some particulars, it is unlike — it scarcely does Miss Effing- 
ham justice about the nose and forehead !” 

John Effingham started when he saw the miniature in 
Paul’s hand, but, recovering himself, he smiled at the eager 
delusion of his young friend, and said with perfect com- 
posure — 

“ It is not Eve, but her mother. The two features you 
have named in the former came from my family ; but in all 
the others the likeness is almost identical.” 

“ This then is Mrs. Effingham !” murmured Paul, gazing 
on the face of the mother of his love with a respectful 
melancholy, and an interest that was rather heightened than 
lessened by a knowledge of the truth. “ She died young, 
sir?” 

“Quite; she can scarcely be said to have become an 
angel too soon, for she was always one.” 

This was said with a feeling that did not escape Paul, 
though it surprised him. There were six or seven miniature- 
cases in the compartment of the dressing-box, and supposing 
that the one which lay uppermost belonged to the miniature 
in his hand, he raised it and opened the lid with a view to 
replace the picture of Eve’s mother with a species of pious 
reverence. Instead of finding an empty case, however, 
another miniature met his eye. The exclamation that now 
escaped the young man was one of delight and surprise. 

“ That must be my grandmother with whom you are in 
such raptures at present,” said John Effingham, laughing. 
“ I was comparing it yesterday with the picture of Eve, 
which is in the Russia-leather case that you will find some- 
where there. I do not wonder, however, at your admiration, 
for she was a beauty in her day, and no woman is fool 
enough to be painted after she grows ugly.” 

“ Not so — not so — Mr. Effingham ! This is the miniature 
I lost in the Montauk, and which I had given up as booty 
to the Arabs. It has, doubtless, found its way into your 


HOME AS FOUND. 


445 


state-room, and has been put among your effects by your 
man through mistake. It is very precious to me, for it is 
nearly every memorial I possess of my own mother !” 

“Your mother!” exclaimed John Effingham, rising. “I 
think there must be some mistake, for I examined all those 
pictures this very morning, and it is the first time they have 
been opened since our arrival from Europe. It cannot be 
the missing picture.” 

“ Mine it is certainly ; in that I cannot be mistaken 1” 

“ It would be odd indeed, if one of my grandmothers, for 
both are there, should prove to be your mother. Powis, 
will you have the goodness to let me see the picture you 
mean.” 

Paul brought the miniature and a light, placing both 
before the eyes of his friend. 

“That!” exclaimed John Effingham, his voice sounding- 
harsh and unnatural to the listener, — “ that picture like your 
mother !” 

“ It is her miniature — the miniature that was transmitted 
to me from those who had charge of my childhood. I can- 
not be mistaken as to the countenance or the dress.” 

“ And your father’s name was Assheton ?” 

“ Certainly — John Assheton, of the Asshetons of Pennsyl- 
vania.” 

John Effingham groaned aloud ; when Paul stepped back, 
equally shocked and surprised, he saw that the face of his 
friend was almost livid, and that the hand which held the 
picture shook like the aspen. 

“ Are you unwell, dear Mr. Effingham ?” 

« ]^o — no — ’tis impossible ! This lady never had a child. 
Powis, you have been deceived by some fancied or some 
real resemblance. This picture is mine, and has not been 
out of my possession these five-and-twenty years.” 

“ Pardon me, sir, it is the picture of my mother, and no 
other ; the very picture lost in the Montauk.” 


446 


HOME ASFOUND. 

The gaze that John Effingham cast upon the young man 
was ghastly ; and Paul was about to ring the bell, but a 
gesture of denial prevented him. 

“See,” said John Effingham hoarsely, as he touched a 
spring in the setting, and exposed to view the initials of two 
names interwoven with hair — “ is this, too, yours ?” 

Paul looked surprised and disappointed. 

“ That certainly settles the question ; my miniature had 
no such addition ; and yet I believe that sweet and pensive 
countenance to be the face of my own beloved mother, and 
of no one else.” 

John Effingham struggled to appear calm ; and, replacing 
the pictures, he took the key from the dressing-case, and, 
opening the bureau, he took out the secretaire. This he 
signed for Powis, who had the key, to open ; throwing him- 
self into a chair, though everything was done mechanically, 
as if his mind and body had little or no connexion with 
each other. 

“ Some accidental resemblance has deceived you as to the 
miniature,” he said, while Paul was looking for the proper 
number among the letters of Mr. Monday. “No — no — 
that cannot be the picture of your mother. She left no 
child. Assheton, did you say, was the name of your 
father ?” 

“ Assheton— John Assheton— about that, at least, there 
can have been no mistake. This is the number at which 
we left off — will you, sir, or shall I, read ?” 

The other made a sign for Paul to read ; looking at the 
same time as if it were impossible for him to discharge that 
duty himself. 

“ This is a letter from the woman who appears to have 
been intrusted with the child, to the man Dowse,” said 
Paul, first glancing his eyes over the page,— “it appears to 
be little else but gossip — ha ! — what is this I see ?” 

John Effingham raised himself in his chair, and he sat 


HOME AS FOUND. 


447 


gazing at Paul as one gazes who expects some extraordinary 
development, though of what nature he knew not. 

“ This is a singular passage,” Paul continued — “ so much 
so as to need elucidation. ‘ I have taken the child with me 
to get the picture from the jeweller, who has mended the 
ring, and the little urchin knew it at a glance.’ ” 

“ What is there remarkable in that ? Others besides our- 
selves have had pictures ; and this child knows its own bet- 
ter than you.” 

“Mr. Effingham, such a thing occurred to myself! It is 
one of those early events of which I still retain, have ever 
retained, a vivid recollection. Though little more than an 
infant at the time, well do I recollect to have been taken in 
this manner to a jeweller’s, and the delight I felt at recover- 
ing my mother’s picture, that which is now lost, after it had 
not been seen for a month or two.” 

“ Paul Blunt — Powis — Assheton,” said John Effingham, 
speaking so hoarsely as to be nearly unintelligible, “ remain 
here a few minutes — I will rejoin you.” 

John Effingham arose, and, notwithstanding he rallied all 
his powers, it was with extreme difficulty he succeeded in 
reaching the door, steadily rejecting the offered assistance 
of Paul, who was at a loss what to think of so much agita- 
tion in a man usually so self-possessed and tranquil. When 
out of the room John Effingham did better, and he pro- 
ceeded to the library, followed by his own man, whom he 
had ordered to accompany him with a light. 

“ Desire Captain Ducie to give me the favor of his com- 
pany for a moment,” he then said, motioning to the servant 
to withdraw. “You will not be needed any longer.” 

It was but a minute before Captain Ducie stood before 
turn. This gentleman was instantly struck with the pallid 
look and general agitation of the person he had come to 
meet, and he expressed an apprehension that he was sudden- 
ly taken ill. But a motion of the hand forbade his touching 


448 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the bell-cord, and he waited in silent wonder at the scene 
which he had been so unexpectedly called to witness. 

“A glass of that water, if you please. Captain Ducie,” 
said John Effingham, endeavoring to smile with gentleman- 
like courtesy as he made the request, though the effort 
caused his countenance to appear ghastly again. A little 
recovered by this beverage, he said more steadily — 

“You are the cousin of Powis, Captain Ducie.” 

“We are sisters’ children, sir.” 

“And your mother is 

“ Lady Dunluce — a peeress in her own right.” 

“ But what — her family name ?” 

“ Her own family name has been sunk in that of my father, 
the Ducies claiming to be as old and as honorable a family 
as that from which my mother inherits her rank. Indeed, 
the Dunluce barony has gone through so many names, by 
means of females, that I believe there is no intention to 
revive the original appellation of the family which was first 
summoned.” 

“You mistake me — your mother — when she married — 
was 

“ Miss Warrender.” 

“ I thank you, sir, and will trouble you no longer,” returned 
John Effingham, rising, and struggling to make his manner 
second the courtesy of his words — “I have troubled you 
abruptly — incoherently I fear — your arm ” 

Captain Ducie stepped hastily forward, and was just in 
time to prevent the other from falling senseless on the floor, 
by receiving him in his own arms. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


449 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

“ What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, 

That he should weep for her.” 

Hamlet. 

The next morning, Paul and Eve were alone in that li- 
brary which had long been the scene of the confidential com- 
munications of the Effingham family. Eve had been weep- 
ing, nor -were Paul’s eyes entirely free from the signs of his 
having given way to strong sensations. Still happiness 
beamed in the countenances of each, and the timid but affec- 
tionate glances with which our heroine returned the fond, 
admiring look of her lover, were anything but distrustful 
of their future felicity. Her hand was in his, and it was 
often raised to his lips, as they pursued the conversation. 

“ This is so wonderful,” exclaimed Eve, after one of the 
frequent musing pauses in which both indulged, “ that I can 
scarcely believe myself awake. , That you. Blunt, Powis, 
Assheton, should, after all, prove an Effingham !” 

“ And that I, who have so long thought myself an orphan, 
should find a living father, and he a man like Mr. John 
Effingham !” 

“ I have long thought that something heavy lay at the 
honest heart of cousin Jack — you will excuse me, Powis, but 
I shall need time to learn to call him by a name of greater 
respect.” 

“ Call him always so, love, for I am certain it would pain 
him to meet with any change in you. He is your cousin Jack.” 

“ Nay, he may some day unexpectedly become my. father 
too, as he has so wonderfully become yours,” rejoined Eve, 


450 


HOME AS FOUND. 


glancing archly at the glowing face of the delighted yonng 
man ; “ and then cousin Jack might prove too familiar and 
disrespectful a term.” 

“ So much stronger does your claim to him appear than 
mine, that I think, when that blessed day shall arrive. Eve, 
it will convert him into my cousin Jack, instead of your 
father. But call him as you may, why do you still insist on 
calling me Powis ?” 

“That name will ever be precious in my eyes! You 
abridge me of my rights, in denying me a change of name. 
Half the young ladies of the country marry for the novelty 
of being called Mrs. Somebody else, instead of the Misses 
they were, while I am condemned to remain Eve Effingham 
for life.” 

“ If you object to the appellation, I can continue to call 
myself Powis. This has been done so long now as almost 
to legalize the act.” 

“ Indeed, no — you are an Effingham, and as an Effingham 
ought you to be known. What a happy lot is mine ! 
Spared even the pain of parting with my old friends, at the 
great occurrence of my life, and finding my married home 
the same as the home of my childhood!” 

“I owe everything to you. Eve — name, happiness, and 
even a home.” 

“I know not that. Now that it is known that you are 
the great-grandson of Edward Effingham, I think your chance 
of possessing the Wigwam would be quite equal to my own, 
even were we to look different ways in quest of married 
happiness. An arrangement of that nature would not be 
difficult to make, as J ohn Effingham might easily compensate 
a daughter for the loss of her house and lands by means of 
those money-yielding stocks and bonds, of which he pos- 
sesses so many.” 

“ I view it differently. You were Mr.— my father’s heir 

how strangely the word father sounds in unaccustomed 


HOME AS FOUND. 


451 


ears ! — But you were my father’s chosen heir, and I shall 
owe to you, dearest, in addition to the treasures of your 
heart and faith, my fortune.” 

“ Are you so very certain of this, ingrate ? — Did not Mr. 
John Effingham — cousin Jack — adopt you as his son even 
before he knew of the natural tie that actually exists between 
you ?” 

“ True, for I perceive that you have been made acquainted 
with most of that which has passed. But I hope, that in 
telling you his own offer, Mr. — that my father did not forget 
to tell you of the terms on which it was accepted ?” 

“ He did you ample justice, for he informed me that you 
stipulated there should be no altering of wills, but that the 
unworthy heir already chosen, should still remain the heir.” 

“ And to this Mr. — ” 

“ Cousin Jack,” said Eve, laughing, for the laugh comes 
easy to the supremely happy. 

“ To this cousin Jack assented ?” • 

“ Most true, again. The will would not have been altered, 
for your interests were already cared for.” 

“And at the expense of yours, dearest Eve !” 

“ It would have been at the expense of my better feelings, 
Paul, had it not been so. However, that will can never do 
either harm or good to any now.” 

“ I trust it will remain unchanged, beloved, that I may 
owe as much to you as possible.” 

Eve looked kindly at her betrothed, blushed even deeper 
than th^ bloom which happiness had left on her cheek, 
and smiled like one who knew more than she cared to ex- 
press. 

“ What secret meaning is concealed behind that look of 
portentous signification ?” 

“ It means, Powis, that I have done a deed that is almost 
criminal. I have destroyed a will.” 

“ Not my father’s !’ 


452 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Even so — but it was done in his presence, and if not 
absolutely with his consent, with his knowledge. When he 
informed me of your superior rights, I insisted on its being 
done at once, so, should any accident occur, you will be heir 
at law, as a matter of course. Cousin Jack affected reluc- 
tance, but I believe he slept more sweetly, for the conscious- 
ness that this act of justice had been done.” 

“ I fear he slept little as it was ; it was Ipng past mid- 
night before I left him, and the agitation of his spirits was 
such as to appear awful in the eyes of a son !” 

“ And the promised explanation is to come, to renew his 
distress! W^hy make it at all? is it not enough that we 
are certain that you are his child ? and for that, have we 
not the solemn assurance, the declaration of almost a dying 
man 1” 

“ There should be no shade left over my mother’s fame. 
Faults there have been, somewhere, but it is painful, oh 1 how 
painful ! for a child to think evil of a mother.” 

“ On this head you are already assured. Your own pre- 
vious knowledge, and John Effingham’s distinct declarations, 
make your mother blameless.” 

“ Beyond question ; but this sacrifice must be made to my 
mother’s spirit. It is now nine ; the breakfast-bell will soon 
ring, and then we are promised the whole of the melancholy 
tale. Pray with me. Eve, that it may be such as will not 
wound the ear of a son !” 

Eve took the hand of Paul within both of hers, and kissed 
it with a sort of holy hope, that in its exhibition caused nei- 
ther blush nor shame. Indeed, so bound together were 
these young hearts, so ample and confiding had been the 
confessions of both, and so pure was their love, that neither 
regarded such a manifestation of feeling differently from 
what an acknowledgment of a dependence on any other 
sacred principle would have been esteemed. The bell now 
summoned them to the breakfast-table, and Eve, yielding to 


HOME AS FOUND. 


453 


her sex’s timidity, desired Paul to precede her a few mi- 
Tuites, that the sanctity of their confidence might not be 
weakened by the observation of profane eyes. 

The meal was silent ; the discovery of the previous night, 
which had been made known to all in the house, by the 
declarations of John EflBngham as soon as he was restored 
to his senses. Captain Ducie having innocently collected 
those within hearing to his succor, causing a sort of moral 
suspense that weighed on the vivacity if not on the comforts 
of the whole party, the lovers alone excepted. 

As profound happiness is seldom talkative, the meal was 
a silent one, then ; and when it was ended, they who had 
no tie of blood with the parties most concerned with the 
revelations of the approaching interview, delicately separat- 
ed, making employments and engagements that left the 
family at perfect liberty ; while those who had been previ- 
ously notified that their presence would be acceptable, silent- 
ly repaired to the dressing-room of John Efiingham. The 
latter party was composed of Mr. Efiingham, Paul, and Eve, 
only. The first passed into his cousin’s bed-room, where 
he had a private conference that lasted half an hour. At 
the end of that time, the two others were summoned to join 
him. 

John Effingham was a strong-minded and a proud man, 
his governing fault being the self-reliance that indisposed 
him to throw himself on a greater power for the support, 
guidance, and counsel, that all need. To humiliation before 
God, however, he was not unused, and of late years it had 
got to be frequent with him, and it was only in connexion 
with his fellow-creatures that his repugnance to admitting 
even of an equality existed. He felt how much more just, 
intuitive, conscientious even, were his own views than those 
of mankind in general ; and he seldom deigned to consult 
with any as to the opinions he ought to entertain, or as to 
the conduct he ought to pursue. It is scarcely necessary 


454 


HOME AS FOUND. 


to SAV, that such a being "was one of strong and engross- 
in<; passions, the impulses frequently proving too imperi- 
ous for the affections, or even for principles. The scene 
that he vras now compelled to go through, was conse- 
quently one of sore mortification and self-abasement ; and 
yet, feeling its justice no less than its necessity, and hav- 
mor made up his mind to discharge what had now become 
a doty, his very pride of character led him to do it man- 
fiilly, and with no uncalled-for reserx es. It was a pain- 
ful and humiliating task, notwithstanding ; and it required 
all the self<?ommand, all the sense of right, and all the 
clear perception of consequences, that one so quick to dis- 
criminate could not avoid perceiving, to enable him to 
go through it with the required steadiness and connex- 
ion. 

Jcdin Eflingham received Paul and Eve, seated in an 
easy chair ; for, while he could not be said to be ill, it 
was CA-ident that his very frame had been shaken by the 
events and emotions of the few preceding hours. He 
gave a hand to each, and drawing Eve affectionately to 
him, he imprinted a kiss on a cheek that was burning, 
though it paled and reddened in quick succession, the 
heralds of the tumultuous thoughts within. The look he 
gave Paul was kind and welcome, while a hectic spot 
glowed on each cheek, betraying that his presence ex- 
cited pain as well as pleasure. A long pause succeeded 
this meeting, when John Effingham broke the silence. 

** There can now be no manner of question, my dear Paul,’’ 
he said, smiling affectionately but sadly, as he looked at the 
young man, ^ about your being my son. The letter written 
by John Assheton to your mother, after the separation of 
your parents, would settle that important point had not the 
names, and the other fects that have come to our knowledge, 
already convinced me of the precious truth ; for precious 
and veiy dear to me is the knowledge that I am the fether 


HOME AS FOUSD. 


455 


of SO worthy a child. You must prepare yourself to hear 
things that it will not be pleasant for a son to listen ” 

“ Xo, no, cousin Jack — dear cousin Jack !” cried Eve, 
throwing herself precipitately into her kinsman’s arms, 
“ we will hear nothing of the sort. It is sufficient tba t vou 
are Paul’s father, and we wish to know no more — will hear 
no more.” 

“ This is like yourself Eve, but it will not answer what I 
conceive to be the dictates of duty. Paul had two parents, 
and not the slightest suspicion ought to rest on one of them, 
in order to spare the feelings of the other. In showing me 
this kindness you are treating Paul inconsideratelv.” 

“ I beg, dear sir, you will not think too moch of me, but 
entirely consult your own judgment — ^your own sense — 
in short, dear father, that you will consider yourself before 
your son.” 

“ I thank you, my children ; what a word and what a 
novel sensation is thK for me, Xed ! I feel all your kind- 
ness ; but if you would consult my peace of mind and wish 
me to regain my self-respect, you will allow me to dis- 
burden my soul of the weight that oppresses it. This is 
strong language ; but while I have no confessions delibe- 
rate criminality or of positive vice to make, I feel it to 
be hardlv too strong for the fects. Mv tale will be verv 
short, and I crave your patience, Xed, while I expose my 
former weakness to these young people.” Here J<dm 
Effingham paused, as if to recollect himself; then he pro- 
ceeded with a seriousness of manner that caused eveiy 
syllable he uttered to tell on the ears of his listeners. “ It 
is well known to your fether. Eve, though it will probably be 
new to you,” he said, “ that I feh a passion for your sainted 
mother, such as few men ever experience for any of your 
sex. Your fether and myself were suitors for her fevor at 
the same time, though I can scarcely say, Edward, that any 
feeling of rivalry entered into the competition.” 


456 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ You do me no more than justice, John, for if the affec- 
tion of my beloved Eve could cause me grief, it was because 
it brought you pain.” 

“ I had the additional mortification of approving of the 
choice she made ; for, certainly, as respected her own hap- 
piness, your mother did more wisely in confiding it to the 
regulated, mild, and manly virtues of your father, than in 
placing her hopes on one as eccentric and violent as my- 
self.” 

“ This is injustice, John. You may have been positive, 
and a little stern at times, but never violent, and least of all 
with a woman.” 

“ Call it what you will, it unfitted me to make one so 
meek, gentle, and yet high-souled, as entirely happy as she 
deserved to be, and as you did make her, while she remained 
on earth. I had the courage to stay and learn that your 
father was accepted (though the marriage was deferred two 
years in consideration for my feelings), and then with a 
heart in which mortified pride, wounded love, a resentment 
that was aimed rather against myself than against your 
parents, I quitted home with a desperate determination 
never to rejoin my family again. This resolution I did not 
own to myself even, but it lurked in my intentions unowned, 
festering like a mortal disease ; and it caused me, when I 
burst away from the scene of happiness of which I had 
been a compelled witness, to change my name, and to make 
several inconsistent and extravagant arrangements to aban- 
don my native country even.” 

“ Poor John!” exclaimed his cousin, involuntarily; “this 
would have been a sad blot on our felicity had we known 
it!” 

“ I was certain of that, even when most writhing under 
the blow you had so unintentionally inflicted, Ned ; but the 
passions are tyrannical and inconsistent masters. I tool- 
my mother’s name, changed my servant, and avoided the 


HOME AS POUND. 


457 


parts of the country where I was known. At this time I 
feared for my own reason, and the thought crossed my 
mind, that by making a sudden marriage I might supplant 
the old passion, which was so near destroying me, by some 
of that gentler affection which seemed to render you so 
blest, Edward.” 

“ Nay, John, this was itself a temporary tottering of the 
reasoning faculties.” 

“ It was simply the effect of passions, over which reason 
had never been taught to exercise a sufficient influence. 
Chance brought me acquainted with Miss Warrender, in 
one of the southern states, and she promised, as I fancied, 
to realize all my wild schemes of happiness and resent- 
ment.” 

“ Resentment, John ?” 

“ I fear I must confess it, Edward, though it were anger 
against myself. I first made Miss Warrender’s acquaintance 
as John Assheton, and some months had passed before I 
determined to try the fearful experiment I have mentioned. 
She was young, beautiful, well-born, virtuous, and good ; if 
she had a fault it was her high spirit, not high temper, but 
she was high-souled and proud.” 

“ Thank God for this !” burst from the inmost soul of 
Paul, with unrestrain able feeling. 

“ You have little to apprehend, my son, on the subject of 
your mother’s character ; if not perfect, she was wanting in 
no womanly virtue, and might, nay ought to have made 
any reasonable man happy. My offer was accepted, for I 
found her heart disengaged. Miss Warrender was not 
affluent, and in addition to the other unjustifiable motives 
that influenced me, I thought there would be a satisfaction 
in believing that I had been chosen for myself rather than 
for my wealth. Indeed, I had got to be distrustful and 
ungenerous, and then I disliked the confession of the weak- 
ness that had induced me to change my name. The sim- 
20 


458 


HOME AS POUND. 


pie, I miglit almost say loose laws of this country, on tlie 
subject of marriage, removed all necessity for explanations, 
there being no bans nor license necessary, and the Christian 
name only being used in the ceremony. We were married, 
therefore, but I was not so unmindful of the rights of others 
as to neglect to procure a certificate, under a promise of 
secresy, in my own name. By going to the place where 
the ceremony was performed, you will also find the marriage 
of John Effingham and Mildred Warrender duly registered 
in the books of the church to which the ofiSciating clergy- 
man belonged. So far I did what justice required, though, 
with a motiveless infatuation for which I can now hardly 
account — which cannot be accounted for except by ascribing 
it to the inconsistent cruelty of passion, — I concealed my 
real name from her, with whom there should have been no 
concealment. I fancied, I tried to fancy I was no impostor, 
as I was of the family I represented myself to be, by the 
mother’s side ; and I wished to believe that my peace would 
easily be made when I avowed myself to be the man I 
really was. I had found Miss Warrender and her sister 
living with a well intentioned but weak aunt, and with no 
male relative to make those inquiries which would so natu- 
rally have suggested themselves to persons of ordinary 
worldly prudence. It is true, I had become known to them 
under favorable circumstances, and they had good reason to 
believe me an Assheton from some accidental evidence that 
I possessed, which unanswerably proved my aflinity to that 
family, without betraying my true name. But there is so 
little distrust in this country, that by keeping at a distance 
from the places in which I was personally knowm, a life 
might have passed without exposure.” 

“ This was all wrong, dear cousin Jack,” said Eve, taking 
his hand and affectionately kissing it, while her face kindled 
with a sense of her sex’s rights, “ and I should be unfaithful 
to my womanhood were I to say otherwise. You had 


HOME AS FOUND, 


459 


entered into the most solemn of all human contracts, and 
evil is the omen when such an engagement is veiled by any 
untruth. But, still, one would think you might have been 
happy with a virtuous and affectionate wife !” 

“Alas! it is but a hopeless experiment to marry one, 
while the heart is still yearning towards another. Confidence 
came too late; for, discovering my unhappiness, Mildred 
extorted a tardy confession from me ; a confession of all but 
the concealment of the true name ; and justly wounded at 
the deception of which she had been the dupe, and yielding 
to the impulses of a high and generous spirit, she announced 
to me that she was unwilling to continue the wife of any 
man on such terms. We parted, and I hastened into the 
South Western States, where I passed the next twelve- 
^ month in travelling, hurrying from place to place, in the 
vain 'hope of obtaining peace of mind. I plunged into 
the prairies, and most of the time mentioned was lost to 
me as respects the world, in the company of hunters and 
trappers.” 

“This, then, explains your knowledge of that section of 
the country,” exclaimed Mr. Effingham, “ for which I have 
never been able to account ’ We thought you among your 
old friends in Carolina all that time.” 

“ No one knew where I had secreted myself, for I passed 
under another feigned name, and had no servant, even. I 
had, however, sent an address to Mildred where a letter 
would find me ; for I had begun to feel a sincere affection 
for her, though it might not have amounted to passion, and 
looked forward to being reunited when her wounded feelings 
had time to regain their tranquillity. The obligations of 
wedlock are too serious to be lightly thrown aside, and I 
felt persuaded that neither of us would be satisfied in the 
end without discharging the duties of the state into which 
we had entered.” 

“ And why did you not hasten to your poor wife, cousin 


460 


HOME AS FOUND, 


Jack,” Eve innocently demanded, “as soon as you returned 
to the settlements ?” 

“ Alas ! my dear girl, I found letters at St. Louis announc- 
ing her death. Nothing was said of any child, nor did I in 
the least suspect that I was about to become a father. When 
Mildred died, I thought all the tics, all the obligations, all 
the traces of my ill-judged marriage were extinct ; and the 
course taken by her relations, of whom, in this country, there 
remained very few, left me no inclination to proclaim it. 
By observing silence, I continued to pass as a bachelor, of 
course ; though had there been any apparent reason for 
avowing what had occurred, I think no one who knows me 
can suppose I would have shrunk from doing so.” 

“ May I inquire, my dear sir,” Paul asked, with a timidity 
of manner that betrayed how tenderly he felt it necessary to 
touch on the subject at all — “may I inquire, my dear sir, 
what course was taken by my mother’s relatives ?” 

“I never knew Mr. Warrender, my wife’s brother, but he 
had the reputation of being a haughty and exacting man. 
His letters were not friendly ; scarcely tolerable ; for he 
affected to believe I had given a false address at the West, 
when I was residing in the Middle States, and he threw out 
hints that to me were then inexplicable, but which the letters 
left with me by Paul have sufficiently explained. I thought 
him cruel and unfeeling at the time, but he had an excuse 
for his conduct.” 

“ Which was, sir ?” Paul eagerly inquired. 

“ I perceive by the letters you have given me, my son, 
that your mother’s family had imbibed the opinion that I 
was John Assheton, of Lancaster, a man of singular humors, 
who had made an unfortunate marriage in Spain, and whose 
wife, I believe, is still living in Paris, though lost to herself 
and her friends. My kinsman lived retired, and never 
recovered the blow. As he was one of the only persons of 
the name who could have married your mother, her relatives 


HOME AS FOUND. 


461 


appear to have taken up the idea that he had been guilty 
of bigamy, and, of course, that Paul was illegitimate. Mr. 
Warrender, by his letters, appears even to have had an 
interview with this person, and^ on mentioning his wife, was 
rudely repulsed from the house. It was a proud family, and 
Mildred being dead, the concealment of the birth of her 
child was resorted to, as a means of averting a fancied dis- 
grace. As for myself, I call the all-seeing eye of God to 
witness, that the thought of my being a parent never crossed 
my mind until I learned that a John Assheton was the father 
of Paul, and that the miniature of Mildred Warrender, that 
I received at the period of our engagement, was the likeness 
of his mother. The simple declaration of Captain Ducie 
concerning the family name of his mother, removed all 
doubt.” 

“But, cousin Jack, did not the mention of Lady Dunluce, 
of the Ducies, and of Paul’s connexions, excite curiosity ?” 

“Concerning what, dear? I could have no curiosity 
about a child of whose existence I was ignorant I did 
know that the ^\''arrenders had pretensions to both rank and 
fortune in England, but never heard the title, and cared 
nothing about money that would not, probably, be Mildred’s. 
Of General Ducie I never even heard, as he married after 
my separation ; and subsequently to the receipt of my brother- 
in-law’s letters, I wished to forget the existence of the family. 
I went to Europe, and remained abroad seven years, and as 
this was at a time when the continent was closed against the 
English, I was not in a way to hear anything on the subject. 
On my return, my wife’s aunt was dead; the last of my 
wife’s brothers was dead ; her sister must then have been 
Mrs. Ducie ; no one mentioned the Warrenders, all traces of 
whom were nearly lost in this country, and to me the subject 
was too painful to be either sought or dwelt on. It is a 
curious fact, that, in 1829, during our late visit to the old 
world, I ascended the Nile with General Ducie for a travel- 


462 


HOME AS FOUND. 


ling companion. We met at Alexandria, and went to the 
cataracts and returned in company. He knew me as John 
Effingham, an American traveller of fortune, if of no parti- 
cular merit, and I knew him as an agreeable English general 
officer. He had the reserve of an Englishman of rank, and 
seldom spoke of his family, and it was only on our return 
that I found he had letters from his wife. Lady Dunluce ; 
but little did I dream that Lady Dunluce was Mabel War- 
render. How often are we on the very verge of important 
information, and yet live on in ignorance and obscurity! 
The Ducies appear finally to have arrived at the opinion 
that the marriage was legal, and that no reproach rests on 
the birth of Paul, by the inquiries made concerning the 
eccentric John Assheton.” 

“They fancied, in common with my uncle Warrender, for 
a long time that the John Assheton whom you have men- 
tioned, sir,” said Paul, “was my father. But some acci- 
dental information, at a late day, convinced them of their 
error, and then they naturally enough supposed that it was 
the only other John Assheton that could be heard of, who 
passes, and probably with sufficient reason, for a bachelor. 
This latter gentleman I have myself always supposed to be 
my father, though he has treated two or three letters I have 
written to him with the . indifference with which one would 
be apt to treat the pretensions of an impostor. Pride has 
prevented me from attempting to renew the correspondence 
lately.” 

“It is John Assheton of Bristol, my mother’s brother’s 
son, as inveterate a bachelor as is to be found in the Union!” 
said John Effingham, smiling in spite of the grave subject 
and deep emotions that had so lately been uppermost in his 
thoughts. “ He must have supposed your letters were an 
attempt at mystification on the part of some of his jocular 
associates, and I am surprised that he thought it necessary 
to answer them at all.” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


463 


“He did answer but one, and that reply certainly had 
something of the character you suggest, sir. I freely forgive 
him, now I understand the truth, though his apparent con- 
tempt gave me many a bitter pang at the time. I saw Mr. 
Assheton once in public, and observed him well, for, strange 
as it is, I have been thought to resemble him.” 

“Why strange? Jack Assheton and myself have, or 
rather had, a strong family likeness to each other, and, 
though the thought is new to me, I can now easily trace 
this resemblance to myself. It is rather an Assheton than 
an Effingham look, though the latter is not wanting.” 

“These explanations are very clear and satisfactory,” 
observed Mr. Effingham, “ and leave little doubt that Paul 
is the child of John Effingham and Mildred Warrender; 
but they would be beyond all cavil, were the infancy of 
the boy placed in an equally plain point of view, and 
could the reasons be known why the Warrendcrs aban- 
doned him to the care of those who yielded him up to 
Mr. Powis.” 

“ I see but little obscurity in that,” returned John Effing- 
ham. “ Paul is unquestionably the child referred to in the 
papers left by poor Monday, to the care of whose mother he 
was intrusted, until, in his fourth year, she yielded him to 
Mr. Powis, to get rid of trouble and expense, while she kept 
the annuity granted by Lady Dunluce. The names appear 
in the concluding letters ; and had we read the latter through 
at first, we should earlier have arrived at the same conclusion. 
Could we find the man called Dowse, who appears to have 
instigated the fraud, and who married Mrs. Monday, the 
whole thing would be explained.” 

“Of this I am aware,” said Paul, for he and John Effing- 
ham had perused the remainder of the Monday papers 
together, after the fainting fit of the latter, as soon as his 
strength would admit ; “ and Captain Truck is now search- 
ing for an old passenger of his, who I think will furnish the 


464 . 


HOME AS FOUND. 


clue. Should we get this evidence, it would settle all legal 
questions.” 

“ Such questions will never be raised,” said John Effing- 
ham, holding out his hand affectionately to his son ; “ you 
possess the marriage certificate given to your mother, and I 
avow myself to have been the person therein styled John 
Assheton. This fact I have endorsed on the back of the 
certificate ; while here is another given to me in my proper 
name, with the endorsement made by the clergyman that I 
passed by another name at the ceremony.” 

“ Such a man, cousin Jack, was unworthy of his cloth !” 
said Eve with energy. 

“ I do not think so, my child. He was innocent of the 
original deception ; this certificate was given after the death 
of my wife, and might do good, whereas it could do no hanii. 
The clergyman in question is now a bishop, and is still living. 
He may give evidence, if necessary, to the legality of the 
marriage.” 

“And the clergyman by whom I was baptized is also 
alive,” cried Paul, “and has never lost sight of me. He 
was, in part, in the confidence of my mother’s family, and 
even after I was adopted by Mr. Powis he kept me in view 
as one of his little Christians, as he termed me. It was no 
less a person than Dr. — : .” 

“ This alone would make out the connexion and identity,” 
said Mr. Effingham, “ without the aid of the Monday wit- 
nesses. The whole obscurity has arisen from John’s change 
of name, and his ignorance of the fact that his wife had a 
child. The Ducies appear to have had plausible reasons, 
too, for distrusting the legality of the marriage ; but all is 
now clear, and as a large estate is concerned, we will take 
care that no further obscurity shall rest over the affair.” 

“The part connected with the estate is already secured,” 
said John Effingham, looking at Eve with a smile. “ An 
American can always make a will, and one that contains but 


HOME AS FOUND. 


465 


a single bequest is soon written. Mine is executed, and 
Paul Effingham, my son by my marriage with Mildred War- 
render, and lately known in the United States’ Navy as 
Paul Powis, is duly declared my heir. This will suffice for 
all legal purposes, though we shall have large draughts of 
gossip to swallow.” 

“ Cousin Jack !” 

“Daughter Eve!” 

“ Who has given cause for it ?” 

“ He who commenced one of the most sacred of his earthly 
duties with an unjustifiable deception. The wisest way to 
meet it will be to make our avowals of the relationship as 
open as possible.” 

“ I see no necessity, John, of entering into details,” said 
Mr. Effingham; “you were married young, and lost your 
wife within a year of your marriage. She was a Miss War- 
render, and the sister of Lady Dunlucc ; Paul and Ducie are 
declared cousins, and the former proves to be your son, of 
whose existence you were ignorant. No one will presume 
to question any of us, and it really strikes me that all rational 
people ought to be satisfied with this simple account of the 
matter.” 

“Father!” exclaimed Eve, with her pretty little hands 
raised in the attitude of surprise, “ in what capital even, in 
what part of the world, would such a naked account appease 
curiosity? Much less will it suffice here, where every 
human being, gentle or simple, learned or ignorant, refined 
or vulgar, fancies himself a constitutional judge of all the 
acts of all his fellow-creatures !” 

“ We have at least the consolation of knowing that no 
revelations will make the matter any worse or any better,” 
said Paul, “ as the gossips would tell their own tale, in every 
case, though its falsehood were as apparent as the noon-day 
sun. A gossip is essentially a liar, and truth is the last 
ingredient that is deemed necessary to his other qualifica- 
20 * 


466 


HOME AS FOUND. 


tions ; indeed, a well authenticated fact is a death-blow to a 
gossip. I hope, my dear sir, you will say no more than that 
I am your son, a circumstance much too precious to me to 
be omitted.” 

John Effingham looked affectionately at the noble young 
man, whom he had so long esteemed and admired ; and the 
tears forced themselves to his eyes as he felt the supreme 
happiness that can alone gladden a parent’s heart. 


HOME AS FOUND, 


467 


CHAPTER XXVIIL 

“ For my part, I care not: I say little ; but -when the time comes, there shall be 
smiles.” 

Nym. 

Although Paul EflSngham was right, and Eve Effingham 
was also right, in their opinions of the art of gossiping, they 
both forgot one qualifying circumstance, that, arising from 
different causes, produces the same effect equally in a capital 
and in a province. In the first, marvels form a nine days’ 
wonder from the hurry of events ; in the latter, from the 
hurry of talking. When it was announced in Templeton 
that Mr. John Effingham had discovered a son in Mr. Powis, 
as that son had conjectured, everything but the truth was 
rumored and believed in connexion with the circumstance. 
Of course, it excited a good deal of natural and justifiable 
curiosity and surprise in the trained and intelligent, for 
John Effingham had passed for a confirmed bachelor ; but 
they were generally content to suffer a family to have feel- 
ings and incidents that were not to be paraded before a 
neighborhood. Having some notions themselves of the 
delicacy and sanctity of the domestic affections, they were 
willing to respect the same sentiments in others. But these 
few excepted, the village was in a tumult of surmises, reports, 
contradictions, confirmations, rebutters, and sur-rebutters, 
for a fortnight. Several village elegants, whose notions of 
life were obtained in the valley in which they were born, 
and who had turned up their noses at the quiet, reserved, 
gentlemanlike Paul, because he did not happen to suit their 
tastes, were disposed to resent his claim to be his father’s 


468 


HOME AS FOUND. 


son, as if it were an injustice done to their rights; such 
commentators on men and things uniformly bringing every- 
thing down to the standard of self. Then the approaching 
marriages at the Wigwam had to run the gauntlet, not only 
of village and county criticisms, but that of the mighty 
Emporium itself, as it is the fashion to call the confused and 
tasteless collection of flaring red brick houses, marten-box 
churches, and colossal taverns, that stands on the island of 
Manhattan; the discussion of marriages being a topic of 
never-ending interest in that well regulated social organiza- 
tion, after the subjects of dollars, lots, and wines, have been 
duly exhausted. Sir George Templemore was transformed 
into the Honorable Lord George Templemore, and Paul’s 
relationship to Lady Dunluce was converted, as usual, into 
his being the heir-apparent of a Duchy of that name ; Eve’s 
preference for a nobleman, as a matter of course, to the 
aristocratical tastes imbibed during a residence in foreign 
countries; Eve, the intellectual, feminine, instructed Eve, 
wLose European associations, while they had taught her to 
prize the refinement, grace, retenue^ and tone of an advanced 
condition of society, had also taught her to despise its mere 
covering and glitter ! But as there is no protection against 
falsehood, so is there no reasoning with ignorance. 

A sacred few, at the head of whom were Mr. Steadfast 
Dodge and Mrs. Widow-Bewitched Abbott, treated the mat- 
ter as one of greater gravity, and as possessing an engrossing- 
interest for the entire community. 

“ For my part, Mr. Dodge,” said Mrs. Abbott, in one of 
their frequent conferences, about a- fortnight after the 
eclaircissement of the last chapter, “ I do not believe that 
Paul Powis is Paul Effingham at all. You say that you 
knew him by the name of Blunt, when he was a younger 
man?” 

“ Certainly, ma’am. He passed universally by that name 
formerly, and it may be considered as at least extraordinary 


HOME AS FOUND. 


469 


that he should have had so many aliases. The truth of the 
matter is, Mrs. Abbott, if truth could be come at, which I 
always contend is very dithcult in the present slate of the 
world 

“You never said a juster thing, Mr. Dodge!” interrupted 
the lady, feelings impetuous as her’s seldom waiting for the 
completion of a sentence, “ I never can get hold of the truth 
of anything now ; you may remember you insinuated that 
Mr. John Effingham himself was to be married to Eve, and, 
lo and behold I it turns out to be his son !” 

“ The lady may have changed her mind, Mrs. Abbott : 
she gets the same estate with a younger man.” 

“ She’s monstrous disagreeable, and I’m sure it will be a 
relief to the whole village when she is married, let it be to 
the father or to the son. Now, do you know, Mr. Dodge, I 
have been in a desperate taking about one thing, and that is 
to find that, bony fie-dy, the two old Effinghams are not 
actually brothers 1 I knew that they called each other 
cousin Jack and cousin Ned, and that Eve affected to call 
her uncle cousin Jack, but then she has so many affectations, 
and the old people are so foreign, that I looked upon all 
that as mere pretence; I said to myself a neighborhood 
ought to know better about a man’s family than he can 
know himself, and the neighborhood all declared they were 
brothers ; and yet it turns out, after all, that they are only 
cousins !” 

“ Yes, I do believe that, for once, the family was right in 
that matter, and the public mistaken.” 

“ Well, I should like to know who has a better right to 
be mistaken than the public, Mr. Dodge. This is a free 
country, and if the people can’t sometimes be wrong, what 
is the mighty use of their freedom ? We are all sinful 
wretches, at the best, and it is vain to look for anything 
but vice from sinners.” 

“ Nay, my dear Mrs. Abbott, you are too hard on your- 


410 


HOME AS FOUND. 


self, for everybody allows that you are as exemplary as you 
are devoted to your religious duties.” 

“ Oh ! I was not speaking particularly of myself, sir ; I 
am no egotist in such things, and wish to leave my own im- 
perfections to the charity of my friends and neighbors. But, 
do you think, Mr. Dodge, that a marriage between Paul 
Effingham, for so I suppose he must be called, and Eve 
Effingham, will be legal ■? Can’t it be set aside, and if 
that should be the case, wouldn’t the fortune go to the 
public ?” 

“ It ought to be so, my dear ma’am, and I trust the day 
is not distant when it will be so. The people are beginning 
to understand their rights, and another century will not 
pass, before they will enforce them by the necessary penal 
statutes. We have got matters so now, that a man can no 
longer indulge in the aristocratic and selfish desire to make 
a will, and, take my word for it, we shall not stop until we 
bring everything to the proper standard.” 

The reader is not to suppose from his language that Mr. 
Dodge was an agrarian, or that he looked forward to a 
division of property at some future day ; for, possessing in 
his own person already, more than what could possibly fall 
to an individual share, he had not the smallest desire to 
lessen its amount by a general division. In point of fact 
he did not know his own meaning, except as he felt envy 
of all above him, in which, in truth, was to be found the 
whole secret of his principles, his impulses, and his doctrines. 
Anything that would pull down those whom education, 
habits, fortune, or tastes, had placed in positions nmre con- 
spicuous than his own, was, in his eyes, reasonable and just 
— as anything that would serve him, in person, the same ill 
turn, would have been tyranny and oppression. The institu- 
tions of America, like everything human, have their bad 
as well as their good side ; and while we firmly believe in 
the relative superiority of the latter, as compared with other 


HOME AS FOOND. 


4Y1 


systems, we should fail of accomplishing the end set before 
us in this work, did we not exhibit, in strong colors, one of 
the most prominent consequences that has attended the en- 
tire destruction of factitious personal distinctions in the 
country, which has certainly aided in bringing out in bolder 
relief than common, the prevalent disposition in man to 
covet that which is the possession of another, and to decry 
merits that are unattainable. 

“Well, I rejoice to hear this,” returned Mrs. Abbott, 
whose principles were of the same loose school as those of 
her companion, “ for I think no one should have rights but 
those Avho have experienced religion, if you would keep 
vital religion in a country. There goes that old sea-lion. 
Truck, and his fishing associate, the commodore, with their 
lines and poles, as usual, Mr. Dodge ; I beg you will call to 
them, for I long to hear what the first can have to say about 
his beloved Effinghams, now ?” 

Mr. Dodge complied, and the navigator of the ocean and 
the navigator of the lake were soon seated in Mrs. Abbott’s 
little parlor, which might be styled the focus of gossip, near 
those who were so lately its sole occupants. 

“ This is wonderful news, gentlemen,” commenced Mrs. 
Abbott, as soon as the bustle of the entrance had subsided. 
“ Mr. Powis is Mr. Effingham, and it seems that Miss Effing- 
ham is to become Mrs. Effingham, Miracles will never 
cease, and I look upon this as one of the most surprising of 
my time.” 

“ Just so, ma’am,” said the commodore, winking his eye, 
and giving the usual flourish with a hand ; “ your time has 
not been that of a day neither, and Mr. Powis has reason to 
rejoice that he is the hero of such a history. For my part, 

I could not have been more astonished were I to bring up 
the sogdollager with a trout-hook, having a cheese-paring 
for the bait.” 

“I understand,” continued the lady, “that there are 


472 


HOME AS FOUND. 


doubts after all, whether this miracle be really a true miracle. 
It is hinted that Mr. Powis is neither Mr. Effingham nor 
Mr. Powis, but that he is actually a Mr. Blunt. Do you 
happen to know anything of the matter, Captain Truck ?” 

“ I have been introduced to him, ma’am, by all three 
names, and I consider him as an acquaintance in each cha- 
racter. I can assure you, moreover, that he is A No. 1, on 
whichever tack you take him ; a man who carries a weather 
helm in the midst of his enemies.” 

“Well, I do not consider it a very great recommendation 
for one to have enemies, at all. Now, I dare say, Mr. 
Dodge, you have not an enemy on earth ?” 

“ I should be sorry to think that I had, Mrs. Abbott. I 
am every man’s friend, particularly the poor man’s friend, and 
I should suppose that every man ought to be my friend. I 
hold the whole human family to be brethren, and that they 
ought to live together as such.” 

“Very true, sir; quite true — -we are all sinners, and ought 
to look favorably on each other’s failings. It is no business 
of mine — I say it is no business of ours, Mr. Dodge, who 
Miss Eve Effingham marries ; but were she my daughter, I 
do think I should not like her tp have three family names, 
and to keep her own in the bargain !” 

“ The Effinghams hold their heads very much up, though 
it is not easy to see why ; but so they do, and the more 
names the better, perhaps, for such people,” returned the 
editor. “For my part, I treat them with condescension, 
just as I do everybody else ; for it is a rule with me. Cap- 
tain Truck, to make use of the same deportment to a king 
on his throne as I would to a beggar in the street.” 

“ Merely to show that you do not feel yourself to be above 
your betters. We have many such philosophers in this 
country.” 

“ Just so,” said the commodore. 

“ I wish I knew,” resumed Mrs. Abbott ; for there existed 


HOME AS FOUND. 


4V3 


in her head, as well as in that of Mr. Dodge, such a total 
confusion on the subject of deportment, that neither saw nor 
felt the cool sarcasm of the old sailor ; “ I wish I knew, now, 
whether Eve Effingham has really been regenerated ! What 
is your opinion, commodore ?” 

“ Re-what, ma’am,” said the commodore, who was not 
conscious of ever having heard the word before ; for, in his 
Sabbaths on the water, where he often worshipped God 
devoutly in his heart, the language of the professedly pious 
was never heard ; “ I can only say she is as pretty a skiff 
as floats, but I can tell you nothing about resuscitation — 
indeed, I never heard of her having been drowned.” 

“ Ah, Mrs. Abbott, the very best friends of the Effinghams 
will not maintain that they are pious. I do not wish to be 
invidious, or to say unneighborly things ; but were I upon 
oath, I could testify to a great many things, which would 
unqualifiedly show that none of them have ever experienc- 
ed.” 

“ Now, Mr. Dodge, you know how much I dislike scandal,” 
the widow-bew'itched cried affectedly, “ and I cannot tole- 
rate such a sweeping charge. I insist on the proofs of what 
you say, in which, no doubt, these gentlemen will join me.” 

By proofs, ]Mrs. Abbott meant allegations. 

“Well, ma’am, since you insist on my proving what I 
have said, you shall not be disappointed. In the first place, 
then, they read their family prayers out of a book.” 

“Aye, aye,” put in the captain; “ but that merely shows 
they have some education ; it is done everywhere.” 

“ Your pardon, sir ; no people but the Catholics and the 
church people commit this impiety. The idea of reading to 
the Deity, Mrs. Abbott, is particularly shocking to a pious 
soul.” 

“ As if the Lord stood in need of letters ! That is very 
bad, I allow ; for at family prayers a form becomes mock- 
ery.” 


474 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Yes, ma’am ; but what do you think of cards ?” 

“ Cards !” exclaimed Mrs. Abbott, holding up her pious 
hands in holy horror. 

“Even so; foul pasteboard, marked with kings and 
queens,” said the captain. “AVhy, this is worse than a 
common sin, being unqualifiedly anti-republican.” 

“ I confess I did not expect this ! I had heard that Eve 
Effingham was guilty of indiscretions, but I did not think 
she was so lost to virtue as to touch a card. Oh ! Eve 
Effingham, Eve Effingham, for what is your poor diseased 
soul destined !” 

“ She dances, too, I suppose you know that,” continued 
Mr. Dodge, who, finding his popularity a little on the w^ane, 
had joined the meeting himself, a few weeks before, and who 
did not fail to manifest the zeal of a new convert. 

“ Dances !” repeated Mrs. Abbott in holy horror. 

“ Real fi diddle de di !” echoed Captain Truck. 

“Just so,” put in the commodore; “I have seen it with 
my own eyes. But, Mrs. Abbott, I feel bound to tell you 
that your own daughter ” 

“ Biansy-Alzumy-Anne !” exclaimed the mother in alarm. 

“Just so; my-aunty-all-suit-me-Anne, if that is her name. 
Do you know, ma’am, that I have seen your own blessed daugh- 
ter, my-aunty-Anne, do a worse thing, even, than dancing !” 

“ Commodore, you are awful ! What could a child of 
mine do that is w orse than dancing ?” 

“ Why, ma’am, if you will hear all, it is my duty to tell 
you. I saw aunty-Anne (the commodore w’as really igno- 
rant of the girl’s name) jump a skipping-rope yesterday 
morning, between the hours of seven and eight. As I hope 
ever to see the sogdollager again, ma’am, I did !” 

“ And do you call this as bad as dancing ?” 

“ Much w'orse, ma’am, to my notion. It is jumping about 
without music, and without any grace, either, particularly as 
it was performed by my-aunty-Anne.” 


HOME AS F O U N D . 


475 


“You are given to light jokes. Jumping the skipping- 
rope is not forbidden in the Bible.” 

“Just so; nor is dancing, if I know anything about it; 
nor, for that matter, cards.” 

“ But waste of time is ; a sinful waste of time ; and evil 
passions, and all unrighteousness.” 

“Just so. My-aunty-Anne was going to the pump for 
water — I dare say you sent her — and she was misspending 
her time ; and as for evil passions, she did not enjoy the hop 
until she and your neighbor’s daughter had pulled each 
other’s hair for the rope, as if they had been two she-dragons. 
Take my word for it, ma’am, it wanted for nothing to make 
it sin of the purest water, but a cracked fiddle.” 

While the commodore was holding Mrs. Abbott at bay 
in this manner, Captain Truck, who had given him a wink 
to that effect, was employed in playing off a practical joke 
at the expense of the widow. It was one of the standing 
amusements of these worthies, who had got to be sworn 
friends and constant associates, after they had caught as 
many fish as -they wished, to retire to the favorite spring, 
light, the one his cigar, the other his pipe, mix their grog, 
and then relieve their ennui, when tired of discussing men 
and things, by playing cards on a particular stump. Now, 
it happened that the captain had the identical pack which 
had been used on all such occasions in his pocket, as was 
evident in the fact that the cards were nearly as distinctly 
marked on their backs as on their faces. These cards he 
showed secretly to his companion, and when the attention 
of Mrs. Abbott was altogether engaged in expecting the 
terrible announcement of her daughter’s errors, the captain 
slipped them, kings, queens, and knaves, high, low, jack, and 
the game, without regard to rank, into the lady’s work- 
basket. As soon as this feat was successfully performed, 
a sign was given to the commodore that the conspiracy was 
effected, and that disputant in theology gradually began to 


476 


home as found. 


give ground, while he continued to maintain that jiunping 
the rope was a sin, though it might he one of a nominal 
class. There is little doubt, had he possessed a smattering 
of phrases, a greater command of biblical learning, and more 
zeal, that the fisherman might have established a new shade 
of the Christian faith ; for, while mankind still persevere in 
disregarding the plainest mandates of God, as respects 
humility, the charities, and obedience, nothing seems to 
afford them more delight than to add to the catalogue of 
the offences against his divine supremacy. It was perhaps 
lucky for the commodore, who was capital at casting a 
pickerel line, but who usually settled his polemics with the 
fist when hard pushed, that Captain Truck found leisure to 
come to the rescue. 

“I’m amazed, ma’am,” said the honest packet-master, 
“that a woman of your sanctity should deny that jumping 
the rope is a sin, for T hold that point to have been settled 
by all our people, these fifty years. You will admit that 
the rope cannot be well jumped without levity ” 

“ Levity, Captain Truck ! I hope you do not insinuate 
that a daughter of mine discovers levity ?” 

“Certainly, ma’am; she is called the best rope-jumper in 
the village, I hear; and levity, or lightness of carriage, is 
the great requisite for skill in the art. Then there are ‘ vain 
repetitions ’ in doing the same thing over and over so often, 
and ‘ vain repetitions ’ are forbidden even in our prayers. I 
can call both father and mother to testify to that fact.” 

“ Well, this is news to me ! I must speak to the minister 
about it.” 

“Of the two, the skipping-rope is rather more sinful than 
dancing, for the music makes the latter easy ; whereas, one 
has to force the spirit to enter into the other. Commodore, 
our hour has come, and we must make sail. May I ask the 
favor, Mrs. Abbott, of a bit of thread to fasten this hook 
afresh ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


477 


The widow-bewitched turned to her basket, and raising a 
piece of calico to look for the thread, “ high, low, jack, and 
the game” stared her in the face. When she bent her 
eyes towards her guests, she perceived all three gazing at the 
cards, with as much apparent surprise and curiosity as if 
two of them knew nothing of their history. 

“ Awful !” exclaimed Mrs. Abbott, shaking both hands, — 
“ awful — awful — awful ! The powers of darkness have been 
at work here !” 

“They seem to have been pretty much occupied, too,” 
observed the captain, “for a better thumbed pack I never 
yet found in the forecastle of a ship.” 

“ Awful — awful — awful ! This is equal to the forty days 
in the wilderness, Mr. Dodge.” 

“ It is a trying cross, ma’am.” 

“ To my notion, now,” said the captain, “ those cards are 
not worse than the skipping-rope, though I allow that they 
might have been cleaner.” 

But Mrs. Abbott was not disposed to view the matter so 
lightly. She saw the hand of the devil in the affair, and 
fancied it was a new trial offered to her widowed condition. 

“ Are these actually cards !” she cried, like one who dis- 
trusted the evidence of her senses. 

“ Just so, ma’am,” kindly answered the commodore ; 
“ This is the ace of spades, a famous fellow to hold when 
you have the lead ; and this is the Jack, which counts one, 
vou know, when spades are trumps. I never saw a more 
thorough-working pack in my life.” 

“ Or a more thoroughly worked pack,” added the captain, 
in a condoling manner. “ AVell, we are not all perfect, and 
I hope Mrs. Abbott will cheer up and look at this matter in 
a gayer point of view. For myself, I hold that a skipping- 
rope is worse than the Jack of spades, Sundays or week 
days. Commodore, we shall see no pickerel to-day, unless 
we tear ourselves from this good company.’* 


478 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Here the two wags took their leave, and retreated to the 
skiff ; the captain, who foresaw an occasion to use them, 
considerately offering to relieve Mrs. Abbott from the pre- 
sence of the odious cards, intimating that he would con- 
scientiously see them fairly sunk in the deepest part of the 
lake. 

When the two worthies were at a reasonable distance 
from the shore, the commodore suddenly ceased rowing, 
made a flourish with his hand, and incontinently began to 
laugh, as if his mirth had suddenly broken through all re- 
straint. Captain Truck, who had been lighting a cigar, com- 
menced smoking, and, seldom indulging in boisterous merri- 
ment, he responded with his eyes, shaking his head from 
time to time, with great satisfaction, as thoughts more ludi- 
crous than common came over his imagination. 

“ Harkee, commodore,” he said, blowing the smoke up- 
wards, and watching it with his eye until it floated away in 
a little cloud, “ neither of us is a chicken. You have stu- 
died life on the fresh w^ater, and I have studied life on the 
salt. I do not say which produces the best scholars, but I 
know that both make better Christians than the jack-screw 
system.” 

“ Just so. I tell them in the village that little is gained 
in the end by following the blind ; that is my doctrine, sir.” 

“ And a very good doctrine it would prove, I make no 
doubt, w’ere you to enter into it a little more fully ” 

“ Well, sir, I can explain ” 

“ Not another syllable is necessary. I know what you 
mean as well as if I said it myself, and, moreover, short sermons 
are alw^ays the best. You mean that a pilot ought to know 
where he is steering, w'hich is perfectly sound doctrine. My 
own experience tells me, that if you press a sturgeon’s nose 
with your foot, it will spring up as soon as it is loosened. 
Now the jack-screw will heave a great strain, no doubt; but 
the moment it is let up, down comes all that rests on it 


HOME AS FOUND. 


410 


again. This Mr. Dodge, I suppose you know, has been a 
passenger with me once or twice ?” 

“ I have heard as much — they say he was tigerish in tiie 
fight with the niggers — quite an out-and-outer.” 

“ Aye, I hear he tells some such story himself; but harkee,. 
commodore, I wish to do justice to all men, and I find there 
is very little of it inland, hereaway. The hero of that day 
is about to marry your beautiful Miss Effingham ; other men 
did their duty too, as, for instance, was the case with Mr. 
John Effingham ; but Paul Blunt-Powis-Effingham finished 
the job. As for Mr. Steadfast Dodge, sir, I say nothing, un- 
less it be to add that he was nowhere near me in that trans- 
action ; and if any man felt like an alligator in Lent, on 
that occasion, it was your humble servant.” 

“ Which means that he was not nigh the enemy. I’ll swear 
before a magistrate.” 

“ And no fear of perjury. Any one who saw Mr. John 
Effingham and Mr. Powis on that day, might have sworn 
that they were father and son ; and any one who did not sec 
Mr. Dodge might have said at once, that he did not belong 
to their family. That is all, sir ; I never disparage a pas- 
senger, and, therefore, shall say no more than merely to add, 
that Mr. Dodge is no warrior.” 

“They say he has experienced religion lately, as they call 
it.” 

“ It is high time, sir, for he had experienced sin quite long 
enough, according to my notion. I hear that the man goes 
up and down the country disparaging those whose shoe-ties he 
is unworthy to unloose, and that he has published some letters 
in his journal, that are as false as his heart ; but let him be- 
ware lest the world should see, some rainy day, an extract 
from a certain log-book belonging to a ship called the Mon- 
tauk. I am rejoiced at this marriage after all, commodore, 
or marriages, rather, for I understand that Mr. Paul Effingham 
and Sir George Templemore intend to make a double bow- 


480 


HOME AS FOUND. 


line of it to-morrow morning. All is arranged, and as soon 
as my eyes have witnessed that blessed sight, I shall trip 
for New York again.” 

“ It is clearly made out, then, that the young gentleman 
is Mr. John Effingham’s son ?” 

“ As clear as the north-star in a bright night. The fellow 
who spoke to me at the Fun of Fire has put us in a way to 
remove the last doubt, if there were any doubt. Mr. Effing- 
ham himself, who is so cool-headed and cautious, says there 
is now sufficient proof to make it good in any court in Ame- 
rica. That point may be set down as settled, and, for my 
part, I rejoice it is so, since Mr. John Effingham has so long 
passed for an old bachelor, that it is a credit to the corps to 
find one of them the father of so noble a son.” 

Here the commodore dropped his anchor, aud the two 
friends began to fish. For an hour neither talked much, but 
having obtained the necessary stock of perch, they landed 
at the favorite spring, and prepared a fry. While seated on 
the grass, alternating between the potations of punch and 
the mastication of fish, these worthies again renewed the 
dialogue in their usual discursive, philosophical, and senti’ 
mental manner. 

“ We are citizens of a surprisingly great country, commo- 
dore,” commenced Mr. Truck, after one of his heaviest 
draughts ; “ everybody says it, from Maine to Florida, and 
what everybody says must be true.” 

“ Just so, sir. I sometimes wonder how so great a coun- 
try ever came to produce so little a man as myself.” 

“ A good cow may have a bad calf, and that explains the 
matter. Have you many as virtuous and pious women in 
this part of the world as Mrs. Abbott ?” 

“ The hills and valleys are filled with them. You mean 
persons who have got so much religion that they have no 
room for anything else ?” 

“I shall mourn to my dying day, that you were not 


HOME AS FOUND. 


481 


brought up to the sea ! If you discover so much of the 
right material on fresh-water, what would you have been on 
salt ? The people who suck in nutriment from a brain and 
a conscience like those of Mr. Dodge, too, commodore, must 
get, in time, to be surprisingly clear-sighted.” 

“Just so; his readers soon overreach themselves. But 
it’s of no great consequence, sir ; the people of this part of 
the world keep nothing long enough to do much good or 
much harm.” 

“ Fond of change, ha ?” 

“Like unlucky fishermen, always ready to shift the 
ground. I don’t believe, sir, that in all this region you can 
find a dozen graves of sons, that lie near their fathers 
Everybody seems to have a mortal aver-sion to stability.” 

“ It is hard to love such a country, commodore !” 

“ Sir, I never try to love it. God has given me a pretty 
sheet of water, that suits my fancy and wants, a beautiful 
sky, fine green mountains, and I am satisfied. One may 
love God, in such a temple, though he love nothing else.” 

“ Well, I suppose if you love nothing, nothing loves you, 
and no injustice is done.” 

“ Just so, sir. Self has got to be the idol, though in the 
general scramble a man is sometimes puzzled to know 
whether he is himself or one of the neighbors.” 

“ I wish I knew your political sentiments, commodore ; 
you have been communicative on all subjects but that, and 
I have taken up the notion that you are a true philosopher.” 

“ I hold myself to be but a babe in swaddling-clothes 
compared to yourself, sir ; but such as my poor opinions are, . 
you are welcome to them. In the first place, then, sir, I 
have lived long enough on this water to know that every 
man is a lover of liberty in his own person, and that he has 
a secret distaste for it in the persons of other people. Then, 
sir, I have got to understand that patriotism means bread 
and cheese, and that opposition is every man for himself” 

21 


482 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ If the truth were Icnown, I believe, commodore, you 
have buoyed out the channel !” 

“ Just so. After being pulled about by the salt of the 
land, and using my freeman’s privileges at their command, 
until I got tired of so much liberty, sir, I have resigned, and 
retired to private life, doing most of my own thinking out 
here on the Otsego-Water, like a poor slave as I am.” 

“ You ought to be chosen the next President !” 

“ I owe my present emancipation, sir, to the sogdollager. 
I first began to reason about such a man as this Mr. Dodge, 
who has thrust himself and his ignorance together into the 
village, lately, as an expounder of truth, and a ray of light 
to the blind. Well, sir, I said to myself, if this man be the 
man I know him to be as a man, can he be anything better 
as an editor ?” 

“ That was a home question put to yourself, commodore ; 
how did you answer it ?” 

“ The answer was satisfactory, sir, to myself, whatever it 
might be to other people. I stopped his paper, and set up 
for myself. Just about that time the sogdollager nibbled, 
and instead of trying to be a great man, over the shoulders 
of the patriots and sages of the land, I endeavored to im- 
mortalize myself by hooking him. I go to the elections now, 
for that I feel to be a duty, but instead of allowing a man 
like this Mr. Dodge to tell me how to vote, I vote for the 
man in public that I w^ould trust in private.” 

“ Excellent ! I honor you more and more every minute I 
pass in your society. We will now drink to the future hap- 
piness of those who will become brides and bridegrooms 
to-morrow. If all men were as philosophical and as learned 
as you, commodore, the human race would be in a fairer 
way than they are to-day.” 

“ Just so ; I drink to them with all my heart. Is it not 
surprising, sir, that people like Mrs. x\bbott and Mr. Dodge 
should have it in their power to injure such as those whose 


HOME AS FOUND. 


483 


happiness we have just had the honor of commemorating in 
advance ?” 

“ Why, commodore, a fly may bite an elephant, if he can 
And a weak spot in his hide. I do not altogether understand 
the history of the marriage of John Effingham, myself ; but 
we see the issue of it has been a fine son. Now I hold that 
when a man fairly marries, he is bound to own it, the same 
as any other crime ; for he owes it to those who have not 
been as guilty as himself, to show the world that he no 
longer belongs to them.” 

“ Just so ; but we have flies in this part of the world that 
will bite through the toughest hide.” 

“ That comes from there being no quarter-deck in your 
social ship, commodore. Now aboard of a well regulated 
packet, all the thinking is done aft ; they who are desirous 
of knowing whereabouts the vessel is, being compelled to 
wait till the observations are taken, or to sit down in their 
ignorance. The whole difficulty comes from the fact that 
sensible people live so far apart in this quarter of the world, 
that fools have more room than should fall to their share. 
You understand me, commodore ?” 

“Just so,” said the commodore, laughing and winking. 
“ Well, it is fortunate that there are some people who are 
not quite as weak-minded as some other people. I take it, 
Captain Truck, that you will be present at the wedding ?” 

The captain now winked in his turn, looked around him 
to make sure no one was listening, and laying a finger on 
his nose, he answered in a much lower key than was usual 
for him — 

“ You can keep a secret, I know, commodore. Now what 
I have to say is not to be told to Mrs. Abbott, in order that 
it may be repeated and multiplied, but is to be kept as snug 
as your bait in the bait-box.” 

“You know your man, sir.” 

“ Well then, about ten minutes before the clock strikes 


484 


HOME AS FOUND. 


nine, to-morrow morning, do you slip into the gallery of 
New St. Paul’s, and you shall see beauty and modesty, when 
‘ unadorned, adorned the most.’ You comprehend ?” 

“Just so,” and the hand was flourished even more than 
usual. 

“ It does not become us bachelors to be too lenient to 
matrimony, but I should be an unhappy man were I not to 
witness the marriage of Paul Powis to Eve Efiingham.” 

Here both the worthies “freshened the nip,” as Captain 
Truck called it, and then the conversation soon got to be 
too philosophical and contemplative for this unpretending 
record of events and ideas. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


485 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


“ Then plainly know, my heart’s dear love is set 
On the fair daughter of rich Capulet; 

As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine ; 

And all combined, save what thou must confine 
By holy marriage.” 

Eomeo and Juliet. 


The morning chosen for the nuptials of Eve and Grace 
arrived, and all the inmates of the Wigwam were early 
afoot, though the utmost care had been taken to prevent the 
intelligence of the approaching ceremony from getting into 
the village. They little knew, however, how closely they 
were watched ; the mean artifices that were resorted to by 
some who called themselves their neighbors, to tamper with 
servants, to obtain food for conjecture, and to justify to 
themselves their exaggerations, falsehoods, and frauds. The 
news did leak out, as will presently be seen, and through a 
channel that may cause the reader, who is unacquainted with 
some of the peculiarities of American life, a little surprise. 

We have frequently alluded to Annette, the femme de 
chamhre that had followed Eve from Europe, although we 
have had no occasion to dwell on her character, which was 
that of a woman of her class, as they are well known to exist 
in France. Annette was young, had bright, sparkling black 
eyes, was well made, and had the usual tournure and man- 
ner of a Parisian grisette. As it is the besetting weakness 
of all provincial habits to mistake graces for grace, flourishes 
for elegance, and exaggeration for merit, Annette soon ac- 
quired a reputation in her circle, as a woman of more than 
usual claims to distinction. Her attire was in the height of 


486 


HOME AS PO UN D . 


the fashion, being of Eve’s cast-off clothes, and of the best 
materials, and attire is also a point that is not without its 
influence on those who are unaccustomed to the world. 

As the double ceremony was to take place before break- 
fast, Annette was early employed about the person of her 
young mistress, adorning it in the bridal robes. While she 
worked at her usual employment, the attendant appeared 
unusually agitated, and several times pins were badly pointed, 
and new arrangements had to supersede or to supply the 
deficiencies of her mistakes. Eve was always a model of 
patience, and she bore with these little oversights with a 
quiet that would have given Paul an additional pledge of 
her admirable self-command, as well as of a sweetness of 
temper that, in truth, raised her almost above the commoner 
feelings of mortality. 

“ Vous etes un pen agitee, ce matin, ma bonne Annette,” 
she merely observed, when her maid had committed a 
blunder more material than common. 

“ J’espere que Mademoiselle a et6 contente de moi, jusqu’ 
a present,” returned Annette, vexed with her own awkward- 
ness, and speaking in the manner in which it is usual to 
announce an intention to quit a service. 

“Certainly, Annette, you have conducted yourself well, 
and are very expert in your metier. But why do you ask 
this question just at this moment ?” 

^^Pareeque — because — with Mademoiselle’s permission, I 
intended to ask for my conger 

“ Cong€ ! Do you think of quitting me, Annette ?” 

“ It would make me happier than anything else to die in 
the service of Mademoiselle, but we are all subject to our 
destiny” — the eonversation was in French — “and mine 
compels me to cease my services as 2 ^ femme de chamhrer 

“ This is a sudden, and for one in a strange country, an 
extraordinary resolution. May I ask, Annette, what you 
propose to do ?” 


HOME AS FOUND. 


487 


Here the woman gave herself certain airs, endeavored to 
blush, did look at the carpet with a studied modesty that 
might have deceived one who did not know the genus, and 
announced her intention to get married, too, at the end of 
the present month. 

“ Married !” repeated Eve — “ surely not to old Pierre, 
Annette ?” 

“ Pierre, Mademoiselle ! I shall not condescend to look 
at Pierre. Je vais me marier avec un avocatV 

“Un avocat!” 

“ Oui^ Mademoiselle. I will marry myself with Monsieur 
Aristabule Bragg, if Mademoiselle shall permit.” 

Eve was perfectly mute with astonishment, notwithstand- 
ing the proofs she had often seen of the wide range that the 
ambition of an American of a certain class allows itself. Of 
course, she remembered the conversation on the Point, and 
it would not have been in nature, had not a mistress who 
had been so lately wooed, felt some surprise at finding her 
discarded suitor so soon seeking consolation in the smiles of 
her own maid. Still her surprise was less than that which 
the reader wdll probably experience at this announcement ; 
for, as has just been said, she had seen too much of the 
active and pliant enterprise of the lover, to feel much wonder 
at any of his moral tours de force. Even Eve, however, was 
not perfectly acquainted with the views and policy that had 
led Aristabulus to seek this consummation to his matrimo- 
nial schemes, which must be explained explicitly in order 
that they may be properly understood. 

Mr. Bragg had no notion of any distinctions in the world, 
beyond those which came from money and political success. 
For the first he had a practical deference that was as pro- 
found as his wishes for its enjoyments ; and for the last he 
felt precisely the sort of reverence that one educated under 
a feudal system would feel for a feudal lord. The first, after 
several unsuccessful efforts, he had found unattainable by 


488 


HOME AS FOUND. 


means of matrimony, and he turned his thoughts towards 
Annette, whom he had for some months held in reserve, in 
the event of his failing with Eve and Grace, for on both these 
heiresses had he entertained designs, as a pis-aller. Annette 
was a dress-maker of approved taste, her person was suffi- 
ciently attractive, her broken English gave piquancy to 
thoughts of no great depth, she 'svas of a suitable age, and 
he had made her proposals and been accepted, as soon as it 
was ascertained that Eve and Grace were irretrievably lost 
to him. Of course, the Parisienne did not hesitate an 
instant about becoming the wife of iin avocat ; for, agree- 
ably to her habits, matrimony was a legitimate means of 
bettering her condition in life. The plan was soon arranged. 
They were to be married as soon as Annette’s month’s notice 
had expired, and then they were to emigrate to the far west, 
where Mr. Bragg proposed to practise law, or keep school, 
or to go to Congress, or to turn trader, or to saw lumber, 
or, in short, to turn his hand to anything that offered ; while 
Annette was to help along with the mmage by making 
dresses, and teaching French ; the latter occupation promis- 
ing to be somewhat peripatetic, the population being scat- 
tered, and few of the dwellers in the interior deeming it 
necessary to take more than a quarter’s instruction in any 
of the higher branches of education ; the object being to 
study, as it is called, and not to know. Aristabulus, who 
was filled with goaheadism, would have shortened the delay^ 
but this Annette positively resisted ; her esprit de corps as a 
servant, and all her notions of justice, repudiating the notion 
that the connexion which had existed so long between Eve 
and herself was to be cut off at a moment’s warning. So 
diametrically were the ideas of the fiances opposed to each 
other on this point, that at one time it threatened a rupture, 
Mr, Bragg asserting the natural independence of man to a 
degree that would have rendered him independent of all 
obligations that were not effectually enacted by the law, and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


489 


Annette maintaining the dignity of a European femme de 
chamhre^ whose sense of propriety demanded that, she should 
not quit her place without giving a month’s warning. The 
affair was happily decided by Aristabulus’s receiving a com- 
mission to tend a store in the absence of its owner; Mr. 
Effingham, on a hint from his daughter, having profited by 
the annual expiration of the engagement to bring their con- 
nexion to an end. 

This termination to the passion of Mr. Bragg would have 
afforded Eve a good deal of amusement at any other moment ; 
but a bride cannot be expected to give too much of her 
attention to the felicity and prospects of those who have no 
natural or acquired claims to her affection. The cousins 
met, attired for the ceremony, in Mr. Effingham’s room, 
where he soon came in person to lead them to the drawing- 
room. It is seldom that two more lovely young women are 
brought together on similar occasions. As Mr. Effingham 
stood between them, holding a hand of each, his moistened 
eyes turned from one to the other in honest pride, and in an 
admiration that even his tenderness could not restrain. The 
toilettes were as simple as the marriage ceremony will per- 
mit ; for it was intended that there should be no unneces- 
sary parade ; and perhaps the delicate beauty of each of the 
brides was rendered the more attractive by this simplicity, 
as it has often been justly remarked that the fair of this 
country are more winning in dress of a less conventional 
character than when in the elaborate and regulated attire of 
ceremonies. As might have been expected, there was most 
of soul and feeling in Eve’s countenance, though Grace wore 
an air of charming modesty and nature. Both were unaf- 
fected, simple, and graceful, and we may add that both 
trembled as Mr. Effingham took their hands. 

“This is a pleasing and yet a painful hour,” said that 
kind and excellent man ; “ one in which I gain a son, and 
lose a daughter.” 


21 * 


490 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ And /, dearest uncle,” exclaimed Grace, whose feelings 
trembled on her eye-lids, like the dew ready to drop from 
the leaf, “ have / no connexion with your feelings ?” 

“ You are the daughter that I lose, my child, for Eve will 
still remain with me. But Templemore has promised to be 
grateful, and I will trust his word.” 

Mr. Effingham then embraced with fervor both the charm- 
ing young women, who stood apparelled for the most impor- 
tant event of their lives, lovely in their youth, beauty, inno- 
cence, and modesty ; and taking an arm of each he led them 
below. John Effingham, the two bridegrooms. Captain 
Ducie, Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield, Mrs. Hawker, Captain 
Truck, Mademoiselle Viefville, Annette, and Ann Sidley, 
were all assembled in the drawing-room, ready to receive 
them; and as soon as shawls were thrown around Eve and 
Grace, in order to conceal the wedding dresses, the whole 
party proceeded to the church. 

The distance between the Wigwam and New St. Paul’s 
was very trifling, the solemn pines of the church-yard blend- 
ing, from many points, with the gayer trees in the grounds 
of the former ; and as the buildings in this part of the village 
were few, the whole of the bridal train entered the tower 
unobserved by the eyes of the curious. The clergyman was 
waiting in the chancel, and as each of the young men led 
the object of his choice immediately to the altar, the double 
ceremony began without delay. At this instant Mr. Stead- 
fast Dodge and Mrs. Abbott advanced from the rear of the 
gallery, and coolly took their seats in its front. Neither 
belonged to this particular church, though, having disco- 
vered that the marriages were to take place that morning by 
means of Annette, they had no scruples on the score of 
delicacy about thrusting themselves forward on the occasion ; 
for, to the latest moment, that publicity-principle which 
appeared to be interwoven with their very natures, induced 
them to think that nothing was so sacred as to be placed 


HOME AS FOUND. 


491 


beyond the reach of curiosity. They entered the church, 
because the church they held to be a public place, precisely 
on the principle that others of their class conceive if a gate 
be blown open by accident, it removes all the moral defences 
against trespassers as it removes the physical. 

The solemn language of the prayers and vows proceeded 
none the less for the presence of these unwelcome intruders ; 
for at that grave moment, all other thoughts were hushed 
in those that more properly belonged to the scene. When 
the clergyman made the usual appeal to know if any man 
could give a reason why those who stood before him should 
not be united in holy wedlock, Mrs. Abbott nudged Mr. 
Dodge, and, in the fulness of her discontent, eagerly inquired 
in a whisper if it were not possible to raise some valid 
objection. Could she have had her pious wish, the simple, 
unpretending, meek, and church-going Eve should never be 
married. But the editor was not a man to act openly in 
anything, his particular province lying in insinuations and 
inuendoes. As a hint would not now be available, he 
determined to postpone his revenge to a future day. We 
say revenge, for Steadfast was of the class that consider any 
happiness or advantage in which they are not ample partici- 
pators wrongs done to themselves. 

That is a wise regulation of the church which makes the 
marriage ceremony brief, for the intensity of the feelings it 
often creates would frequently become too powerful to be 
suppressed, were it unnecessarily prolonged. Mr. Effingham 
gave away both the brides, the one in the quality of parent, 
the other in that of guardian, and neither of the bridegrooms 
got the ring on the wrong finger. This is all we have to 
say of the immediate scene at the altar. As soon as the 
benediction was pronounced, and the brides were released 
from the first embraces of their husbands, Mr. Effingham, 
without even kissing Eve, threw the shawls over their shoul- 
ders, and, taking an arm of each, he led them rapidly from 


492 


HOME AS FOUND. 


the church, for he felt reluctant to suffer the holy feelings 
that were uppermost in his heart to be the spectacle of rude 
and obtrusive observers. At the door he relinquished Eve 
to Paul, and Grace to Sir George, with a silent pressure of 
the hand of each, and signed for them to proceed towards 
the Wigwam. He was obeyed, and in less than half an 
hour from the time they had left the drawing-room, the 
whole party was again assembled in it. 

What a change had been produced in the situation of so 
many in that brief interval ! 

“ Father 1” Eve whispered, while Mr. Effingham folded 
her to his heart, the unbidden tears falling from both their 
eyes — “ I am still thine !” 

“ It would break my heart to think otherwise, darling. 
No, no — I have not lost a daughter, but have gained a son.” 

“And \vhat place am I to occupy in this scene of fond- 
ness?” inquired John Effingham, who had considerately 
paid his compliments to Grace first, that she might not feel 
forgotten at such a moment, and who had so managed that 
she was now receiving the congratulations of the rest of the 
party ; “ am I to lose both son and daughter ?” 

Eve, smiling sweetly through her tears, raised herself from 
her own father’s arms, and was received in those of her hus- 
band’s parent. After he had fondly kissed her forehead 
several times, without withdrawing from his bosom, she 
parted the rich hair on his forehead, passing her hand down 
his face like an infant, and said softly — 

“ Cousin Jack !” 

“I believe this must be my rank and estimation still! 
Paul shall make no difference in our feelings we will love 
each other as we have ever done.” 

“Paul can be nothing new between you and me. You 
have always been a second father in my eyes, and in my 
heart, too, dear — dear cousin Jack.” 

John Effingham pressed the beautiful, ardent, blushing 


HOME AS FOUND. 


493 


girl to his bosom again ; and as he did so, both felt, notwith- 
standing their language, that a new and dearer tie than ever 
bound them together. Eve now received the compliments 
of the rest of the party, when the two brides retired to 
change the dresses in which they had appeared at the altar 
for their more ordinary attire. 

In her own dressing-room Eve found Ann Sidley waiting 
with impatience to pour out her feelings, the honest and 
affectionate creature being much too sensitive to open the 
floodgates of her emotions in the presence of third parties. 

“ Ma’am — Miss Eve — Mrs. Effingham !” she exclaimed, as 
soon as her young mistress entered, afraid of saying too 
much, now that her nursling had become a married woman. 

“ My kind and good Nanny !” said Eve, taking her old 
nurse in her arms, their tears mingling in silence for near a 
minute. “You have seen your child enter on the last of 
her great earthly engagements, Nanny, and I know you 
pray that they may prove happy.” 

“I do — I do — I do — ma’am — madam — Miss Eve — what 
am I to call you in future, ma’am ?” 

“ Call me Miss Eve, as you have done since my childhood, 
dearest Nanny.” 

Nanny received this permission with delight, and twenty 
times that morning she availed herself of it ; and she con- 
tinued to use the term until, two years later, she danced a 
miniature Eve on her knee, as she had done its mother 
before her, when matronly rank began silently to assert its 
rights, and our present bride became Mrs. Effingham. 

“ I shall not quit you, ma’am, now that you are married ?” 
Ann Sidley timidly asked ; for, although she could scarcely 
think such an event within the bounds of probability, and 
Eve had already more than once assured her of the contrary 
with her own tongue, still did she love to have assurance 
made doubly sure. “ I hope nothing will ever happen to 
make me quit you, ma’am ?” 


494 


HOME AS FOUND. 


“ Nothing of that sort, with my consent, ever shall happen, 
my excellent Nanny. And now that Annette is about to 
get married, I shall have more than the usual necessity for 
your services.” 

“ And Mamerzelle, ma’am ?” inquired Nanny, with spark- 
ling eyes ; “ I suppose she, too, will return to her own coun- 
try, now you know everything, and have no further occasion 
for her ?” 

“Mademoiselle Viefville will return to France in the 
autumn, but it will be with us all ; for my dear father, cousin 
Jack, my husband” — Eve blushed as she pronounced the 
novel word — “ and myself, not forgetting you, my old nurse, 
will all sail for England, with Sir George and Lady Temple- 
more, on our way to Italy, the first week in October.” 

“I care not, ma’am, so that I go with you. I would 
rather we did not live in a country where I cannot under- 
stand all that the people say to you, but wherever you are 
will bo my earthly paradise.” 

Eve kissed the true-hearted woman, and, Annette entering, 
she changed her dress. 

The two brides met at the head of the great stairs, on 
their way back to the drawing-room. Eve was a little in 
advance, but with a half-coneealed smile she gave way to 
Grace, curtsying gravely, and saying — 

“ It does not become me to precede Lady Templemore — 
I, who am only Mrs. Paul Effingham.” 

“ Nay, dear Eve, I am not so weak as you imagine. Do 
you not think I should have married him had he not been 
a baronet ?” 

“ Templemore, my dear coz, is a man any woman might 
love, and I believe, as firmly as I hope it sincerely, that he 
will make you happy.” 

“ And yet there is one woman who would not love him, 
Eve !” 

Eve looked steadily at her cousin for a moment, was 


HOME AS FOUND 


495 


startled, and then she felt gratified that Sir George had been 
so honest, for the frankness and manliness of his avowal was 
a pledge of the good faith and sincerity of his character. 
She took her cousin affectionately by the hand, and said — 

“ Grace, this confidence is the highest compliment you 
can pay me, and it merits a return. That Sir George Tem- 
plemore may have had a passing inclination for one who so 
little deserved it, is possibly true — but my affections were 
another’s before I knew him.” 

“ You never would have married Templemore, Eve ; he 
says himself, now, that you are quite too continental, as he 
calls it, to like an Englishman.” 

“ Then I shall take the first good occasion to undeceive 
him ; for I do like an Englishman, and he is the identical 
man.” 

As few women are jealous on their wedding-day, Grace 
took this in good part, and they descended the stairs toge- 
ther, side by side, reflecting each other’s happiness in their 
timid but conscious smiles. In the great hall they were met 
by the bridegrooms, and each taking the arm of him who 
had now become of so vast importance to her, they paced 
the room to and fro, until summoned to the dejeuner d la 
fourchette, which had been prepared under the especial 
superintendence of Mademoiselle Viefville, after the manner 
of her country. 

Wedding-days, like all formally prepared festivals, are apt 
to go off a little heavily. Such, however, was not the case 
with this, for every appearance of premeditation and prepa- 
ration vanished with this meal. It is true the family did 
not quit the grounds, but, with this exception, ease and 
tranquil happiness reigned throughout. Captain Truck was 
alone disposed to be sentimental, and more than once, as he 
looked about him, he expressed his doubts whether he had 
pursued the right course to attain happiness. 

“I find myself in a solitary category,” he said at the 


496 


HOME AS FOUND. 


dinner-table in the evening. “ Mrs. Hawker and both the 
Messrs. Efhngham have been married; everybody else is 
married, and I believe I must take refuge in saying that I 
will be married, if I can now persuade any one to have me. 
Even Mr. Powis, my right-hand man in all that African 
affair, has deserted me, and left me like a single dead pine 
in one of your clearings, or a jewel-block dangling at a yard- 
arm without a sheave. Mrs. Bride” — the captain styled 
Eve thus throughout the day, to the utter neglect of the 
claims of Lady Templemore — “ Mrs. Bride, we will consider 
my forlorn condition more philosophically when I shall have 
the honor to take you, and so many of this blessed party, 
back again to Europe, where I found you. Under youf 
advice I think I might even yet venture 

“ And I am overlooked entirely,” cried Mr. Howel, who 
had been invited to make one at the wedding-feast; “what 
is to become of me. Captain Truck, if this marrying mania 
go any further?” 

“ I have long had a plan for your welfare, my dear sir, that 
I will take this opportunity to divulge ; I propose, ladies and 
gentlemen, that we enlist Mr. Howel in our project for this 
autumn, and that we carry him with us to Europe. I shall 
be proud to liave the honor of introducing him to his old 
friend, the island of Great Britain.” 

“ Ah ! that is a happiness, I fear, that is not in reserve for 
me !” said Mr. Howel, shaking his head. “ I have thought 
of these things in my time, but age will now defeat any such 
hopes.” 

“ Age, Tom Howel !” said John Effingham ; “ you are but 
fifty, like Ned and myself. We were all boys together forty 
years ago, and yet you find us, who have so lately returned, 
ready to take a fresh departure. Pluck up heart; there 
may be a steamboat ready to bring you back by the time 
you wish to return.” 

“Never,” said Captain Truck positively. “Ladies and 


HOME AS FOUND. 


497 


gentlemen, it is morally impossible that the Atlantic should 
over be navigated by steamers. That doctrine I shall main- 
tain to my dying day ; but what need of a steamer when 
we have packets like palaces ?” 

“ I did not know, captain, that you entertained so hearty 
a respect for Great Britain — it is encouraging, really, to find 
so generous a feeling toward the old island in one of her 
descendants. Sir George and Lady Templemore, permit me 
to drink to your lasting felicity.” 

“ Aye — aye — I entertain no ill-will to England, though 
her tobacco laws are none of the genteelest. But my wish 
to export you, Mr. Howel, is less from a desire to show you 
England than to let you perceive that there are other coun- 
tries in Europe 

“ Other countries ! Surely you do not suppose I am so 
ignorant of geography as to believe that there are no other 
countries in Europe — no such places as Hanover, Brunswick, 
and Brunswick Lunenberg, and Denmark ; the sister of old 
George the Third married the king of that country ; and 
Wurtemberg, the king of which married the Princess 
Royal ” 

“And Mecklenburg-Strelitz,” added John Effingham 
gravely, “a princess of which actually married George the 
Third propria persona as well as by proxy. Nothing can 
be plainer than your geography, Howel ; but, in addition to 
these particular regions, our worthy friend the captain wishes 
you to know also, that there are such places as France, and 
Austria, and Russia, and Italy ; though the latter can scarcely 
repay a man for the trouble of visiting it.” 

“You have guessed my motive, Mr. John Effingham, and 
expressed it much more discreetly than I could possibly 
have done,” cried the captain. “ If Mr. Howel will do me 
the honor to take passage with me, going and coming, I 
shall consider the pleasure of his remarks on men and things 
as one of the greatest advantages I ever possessed.” 


498 HOME AS FOUND. 

“ I do not know but I might be induced to venture as far 
as England, but not a foot farther.” 

“Pas a Paris!'''' exclaimed Mademoiselle Viefville, who 
wondered why any rational being would take the trouble to 
cross the Atlantic merely to see Ce melancolique Londres ; 
“ you will go to Paris for my sake, Monsieur Howel ?” 

“ For your sake, indeed, Mam’selle, I would do anything, 
but hardly for my own. I confess I have thought of this, 
and I will think of it farther. I should like to see the King 
of England and the House of Lords, I confess, before I die.” 

“ Aye, and the Tower, and the Boar’s-Head at East-Cheap, 
and the statue of the Duke of Wellington, and London 
Bridge, and Richmond Hill, and Bow Street, and Somerset 
House, and Oxford Road, and Bartlemy Fair, and Hunger- 
ford Market, and Charing-Cross — old Chari ng-Cross, Tom 
Howel !” — added John Effingham, with a good-natured nod 
of the head. 

“A wonderful nation!” cried Mr. Howel, whose eyes 
sparkled as the other proceeded in his enumeration of 
wonders. “ I do not think, after all, that I can die in 
peace without seeing some of these things — all would be 
too much for me. How far is the Isle of Dogs, now, from 
St. Catharine’s Docks, captain ?” 

“ Oh ! but a few cables’ lengths. If you will only stick 
to the ship until she is fairly docked, I will promise you a 
sight of the Isle of Dogs before you land, even. But then 
you must promise me to carry out no tobacco 1” 

“No fear of me; I neither smoke nor chew, and it does 
not surprise me that a nation as polished as the English 
should have this antipathy to tobacco. And one might 
really see the Isle of Dogs before landing ? It is a wonder- 
ful country 1 Mrs. Bloomfield, will you ever be able to die 
tranquilly without seeing England ?” 

“ I hope, sir, whenever that event shall arrive that it may 
be met tranquilly, let what may happen previously. I do 


HOME AS FOUND. 


499 


confess, in common witli Mrs. Effingham, a longing desire to 
see Italy ; a wish that I believe she entertains from her actual 
knowledge, and which I entertain from my anticipations.” 

“ Now this really surprises me. What can Italy possess 
to repay one for the trouble of travelling so far ?” 

“I trust, cousin Jack,” said Eve, coloring at the sound of 
her own voice, for on that day of supreme happiness and 
intense emotions, she had got to be so sensitive as to be less 
self-possessed than common, “ that our friend Mr. Wenham 
will not be forgotten, but that he may be invited to join the 
party.” 

This representative of lajeune Ameriqxie was also present 
at the dinner, out of regard to his deceased father, who was 
a very old friend of Mr. Effingham’s, and, being so favora- 
bly noticed by the bride, he did not fail to reply. 

“ I believe an American has little to learn from any nation 
but his own,” observed Mr. Wenham, with the complacency 
of the school to which he belonged, “ although one might 
wish that all of this country should travel, in order that the 
rest of the world might have the benefit of the intercourse.” 

“ It is a thousand pities,” said John Effingham, “ that one 
of our universities, for instance, was not ambulant. Old 
Yale was so in its infancy ; but unlike most other creatures, 
it went about with greater ease to itself when a child than 
it can move in manhood.” 

“Mr. John Effingham loves to be facetious,” said Mr. 
Wenham with dignity ; for, while he was as credulous as 
could be wished on the subject of American superiority, he 
was not quite as blind as the votaries of the Anglo-Ameri- 
can school, who usually yield the control of all their faculties 
and common sense to their masters on the points connected 
with their besetting- weaknesses. “ Everybody is agreed, I 
believe, that the American imparts more than he receives 
in his intercourse with Europeans.” 

The smiles of the more experienced of this young man’s 


500 


HOME AS FOUND. 


listeners were well-bred and concealed, and the conversation 
turned to other subjects. It was easy to raise the laugh on 
such an occasion, and contrary to the usage of the Wigwam, 
where the men usually left the table with the other sex, 
Captain Truck, John Effingham, Mr. Bloomfield, and Mr. 
Howel, made what is called a night of it. Much delicious 
claret was consumed, and the honest captain was permitted 
to enjoy his cigar. About midnight he swore he had half 
a mind to write a letter to Mrs. Hawker, with an offer of 
his hand; as for his heart, that she well knew she had 
possessed for a long time. 

Tlie next day, about the hour when the house was tran- 
quil, from the circumstance that most of its inmates were 
abroad on their several avocations of boating, riding, shop- 
ping, or walking. Eve was in the library, her father having 
left it, a few minutes before, to mount his horse. She was 
seated at a table, writing a letter to an aged relative of her 
own sex, to communicate the circumstance of her marriage. 
The door was half open, and Paul appeared at it unexpect- 
edly, coming in search of his young bride. His step had 
been so light, and so intently was our heroine engaged with 
her letter, that his approach was unnoticed, though it had 
now been a long time that the ear of Eve had learned to 
know his tread, and her heart to beat at its welcome sound. 
Perhaps a beautiful woman is never so winningly lovely as 
when, in her neat morning attire, she seems fresh and sweet 
as the new-born day. Eve had paid a little more attention 
to her toilette than usual even, admitting just enough of a 
properly selected jewelry, a style of ornament that so singu- 
larly denotes the refinement of a gentlewoman, when used 
nnderstandingly, and which so infallibly betrays vulgarity 
under other circumstances, while her attire had rather more 
than its customary finish, though it was impossible not to 
perceive, at a glance, that she was in an undress. The 
Parisian skill of. Annette, on which Mr. Bragg based so 


HOME AS FOUND. 


501 


many of his hopes of future fortune, had cut and fitted the 
robe to her faultlessly beautiful person, with a tact, or it 
might be truer to say a contact, so perfect, that it even left 
more charms to be imagined than it displayed, though the 
outline of the whole figure was that of the most lovely 
womanhood. But, notwithstanding the exquisite modelling 
of the whole form, the almost fairy lightness of the full, 
swelling, but small foot, about which nothing seemed lean 
and attenuated, the exquisite hand that appeared from 
among the ruffles of the dress, Paul stood longest in nearly 
breathless admiration of the countenance of his “ bright and 
blooming bride.” Perhaps there is no sentiment so touch- 
ingly endearing to a man, as that which comes over him as 
he contemplates the beauty, confiding faith, holy purity, and 
truth that shine in the countenance of a young, unpractised, 
innocent woman, when she has so far overcome her natural 
timidity as to pour out her tenderness in his behalf, and to 
submit to the strongest impulses of her nature. Such was 
now the fact with Eve. She was writing of her husband, 
and, though her expressions were restrained by taste and 
education, they partook of her unutterable fondness and 
devotion. The tears stood in her eyes, the pen trembled 
in her hand, and she shaded her face as if to conceal the 
weakness from herself. Paul was alarmed, he knew not why, 
but Eve in tears was a sight painful to him. In a moment 
he was at her side, with an arm placed gently around her 
waist, and he drew her fondly towards his bosom. 

“ Eve — dearest Eve !” he said — “ what mean these tears ?” 

The serene eye, the radiant blush, and the meek tender- 
ness that rewarded his own burst of feeling, re-assured the 
young husband, and, deferring to the sensitive modesty of 
so young a bride, he released his hold, retaining only a 
hand. 

“ It is happiness, Powis — nothing but excess of happiness, 
which makes us women weaker, I fear, than even sorrow.” 


502 


HOME AS FOUND. 


Paul kissed her hands, regarded her 'with an intensity of 
admiration, before which the eyes of Eve rose and fell, as if 
dazzled while meeting his looks, and yet unwilling to lose 
them ; and then he reverted to the motive which had brought 
him to the library. 

“ My father — your father, that is now ” 

“ Cousin Jack !” 

“ Cousin Jack, if you will, has just made me a present, which 
is second only to the greater gift I received from your own 
excellent parent, yesterday, at the altar. See, dearest Eve, 
he has bestowed this lovely image of yourself on me ; lovely, 
though still so far from the truth. And here is the minia- 
ture of my poor mother, also, to supply the place of the one 
carried away by the Arabs.” 

Eve gazed long and wistfully at the beautiful features of 
this image of her husband’s mother. She traced in them 
that pensive thought, that winning kindness, that had first 
softened her. heart towards Paul, and her lips trembled as 
she pressed the insensible glass against them. 

“ She must have been very handsome. Eve, and there is a 
look of melancholy tenderness in the face, that would seem 
almost to predict an unhappy blighting of the affections.” 

“ And yet this young, ingenuous, faithful woman entered 
on the solemn engagement we have just made, Paul, with as 
many reasonable hopes of a bright future as we ourselves !” 

“ Not so. Eve — confidence and holy truth were wanting at 
the nuptials of my parents. When there is deception at the 
commencement of such a contract, it is not dififcult to predict 
the end.” 

“ I do not think, Paul, you ever deceived ; that noble heart 
of yours is too generous !” 

“If anything can make a man worthy of such a love, 
dearest, it is the perfect and absorbing confidence with 
which your sex throw themselves on the justice and faith 
of ours. Did that spotless heart ever entertain a doubt of 


HOME AS FOUND. 


503 


the worth of any living being on which it had set its affec- 
tions ?” 

“ Of itself, often, and they say self-love lies at the bottom 
of all our actions.” 

“ You are the last person to hold this doctrine, beloved, 
for those who live most in your confidence, declare that all 
traces of self are lost in your very nature.” 

“Most in my confidence! My father — my dear, kind 
father, has then been betraying his besetting weakness, by 
extolling the gift he has made.” 

“Your kind, excellent father, knows too well the total 
want of necessity for any such thing. If the truth must be 
confessed, I have been passing a quarter of an hour with 
worthy Ann Sidley.” 

“ Nanny — dear old Nanny I — and you have been weak 
enough, traitor, to listen to the eulogiums of a nurse on her 
child 1” 

“ All praise of thee, my blessed Eve, is grateful to my ears, 
and who can speak more understandingly of those domestic 
qualities which lie at the root of domestic bliss, than those 
who have seen you in your most intimate life, from child- 
hood down to the moment when you have assumed the 
duties of a wife ?” 

“ Paul, Paul, thou art beside thyself ; too much learning 
hath made thee mad !” 

“ I am not mad, most beloved and beautiful Eve, but 
blessed to a degree that might indeed upset a stronger 
reason.” 

“ We Avill now talk of other things,” said Eve, raising his 
hand to her lips in respectful affection, and looking grate- 
fully up into his fond and eloquent eyes ; “ I hope the feel- 
ing of which you so lately spoke has subsided, and that you 
no longer feel yourself a stranger in the dwelling of your 
own family.” 

“ Now that I can claim a right through you, I confess 


504 


HOME AS FOUND. 


that my conscience is getting to be easier on this point. 
Have you been yet told of the arrangement that the older 
heads meditate in reference to our future means?” 

“ I would not listen to my dear father when he wished to 
introduce the subject, for I found that it was a project that 
made distinctions between Paul Effingham and Eve Effing- 
ham — two that I wish, henceforth, to consider as one in all 
things.” 

“ In this, darling, you may do yourself injustice as well 
as me. But perhaps you may not wish me to speak on the 
subject, neither.” 

“ What would my lord ?” 

“Then listen, and the tale is soon told. We are each 
other’s natural heirs. Of the name and blood of Effing- 
ham, neither has a relative nearer than the other, for, 
though but cousins in the third degree, our family is so 
small as to render the husband, in this case, the natural 
heir of the wife, and the wife the natural heir of the 
husband. Now your father proposes that his estates be 
valued, and that my father settle on you a sum of equal 
amount, which his wealth will fully enable him to do, and 
that I become the possessor, in reversion, of the lands that 
would otherwise have been yours.” 

“ You possess me, my heart, my affections, my duty ; of 
what account is money after this !” 

“ I perceive that you are so much and so truly woman. 
Eve, that we must arrange all this without consulting you 
at all.” 

“Can I be in safer hands? A father that has always 
been too indulgent of my unreasonable wishes — a second 
parent that has only contributed too much to spoil me in 
the same thoughtless manner — and a ” 

“ Husband,” added Paul, perceiving that Eve hesitated at 
pronouncing to his face a name so novel though so endearing 
“ who will strive to do more than either in the same wav. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


505 


“ Husband,” she added, looking up into his face with 
a smile innocent as that of an infant, while the crimson 
tinge covered her forehead, “ if the formidable word must 
be uttered, who is doing all he can to increase a self- 
esteem that is already so much greater than it ought to 
be.” 

A light tap at the door caused Eve to start and look 
embarrassed, like one detected in a fault, and Paul to 
release the hand that he had continued to hold during the 
brief dialogue. 

“ Sir — ma’am ” — said the timid, meek voice of Ann 
Sidley, as she held the door ajar, without presuming to look 
into the room ; “ Miss Eve — Mr. Powis.” 

“ Enter, my good Nanny,” said Eve, recovering her self- 
composure in a moment, the presence of her nurse always 
appearing to her as no more than a duplication of herself. 
“ What is your wish ?” 

“ I hope I am not unreasonable, but I knew that Mr. 
Effingham was alone with you, here, and I wished — that is, 
ma’am, — Miss Eve — Sir ” 

“ Speak your wishes, my good old nurse — am I not your 
own child, and is not this your own child’s” — again Eve 
hesitated, blushed, and smiled, ere she pronounced the formi- 
dable word — “husband.” 

“ Yes, ma’am ; and God be praised that it is so. I 
dreamt, it is now four years. Miss Eve ; we were then tra- 
velling among the Denmarkers, and I dreamt that you were 
married to a great prince ” 

“ But your dream has not come true, my good Nanny, 
and you see by this fact that it is not always safe to trust in 
dreams.” 

“ Ma’am, I do not esteem princes by the kingdoms and 
crowns, but by their qualities — and if Mr. Powis be not a 
prince, who is ?” 

“That, indeed, changes the matter,” said the gratified 
22 


506 


HOME AS FOUND. 


young wife ; “and I believe, after all, dear Nanny, that T 
must become a convert to your theory of dreams.’ 

“ While I must always deny it, good Mrs. Sidley, if this 
is a specimen of its truth,” said Paul, laughing. “ But, 
perhaps this prince proved unworthy of Miss Eve, after all !” 

“Not he, sir ; he made her a most kind and affectionate 
husband; not humoring all her idle wishes, if Miss Eve 
could have had such wishes, but cherishing her, and coun- 
selling her, and protecting her, showing as much tenderness 
for her as her own father, and as much love for her as I had 
myself.” 

“ In which case, my worthy nurse, he proved an invalu- 
able husband,” said Eve, with glistening eyes, “ and I 
trust, too, that he was considerate and friendly to you ?” 

“ He took me by the hand, the morning after the mar- 
riage, and said, Faithful Ann Sidley, you have nursed and 
attended my beloved when a child, and as a young lady ; and 
I now entreat you will continue to wait on and serve her as 
a wife to your dying day. He did, indeed, ma’am ; and I 
think I can now hear the very words he spoke so kindly. 
The dream, so far, has come good.” 

“ My faithful Ann,” said Paul, smiling, and taking the 
hand of the nurse, “you have been all that is good and 
true to my best beloved, as a child, and as a young lady ; 
and now I earnestly entreat you to continue to wait on her, 
and to serve her as my wife, to your dying day.” 

Nanny clapped her hands with a scream of delight, and 
bursting into tears, she exclaimed, as she hurried from the 
room, 

“ It has all come true — it has all come true !” 

A pause of several minutes succeeded this burst of su- 
perstitious but natural feeling. 

“ All who live near you appear to think you the common 
centre of their affections,” Paul resumed, when his swelling 
heart permitted him to speak. 


HOME AS FOUND. 


501 


We have hitherto been a family of love — God grant it 
may always continue so.” 

Another delicious silence, which lasted still longer than 
the other, followed. Eve then looked up into her husband’s 
face with a gentle curiosity, and observed — 

“You have told me a great deal, Powis — explained all 
but one little thing, that at the time caused me great pain. 
Why did Ducie, when you were about to quit the Montauk 
together, so unceremoniously stop you, as you were about 
to get into the boat first; is the etiquette of a man-of- 
war so rigid as to justify so much rudeness, I had almost 
called it — ?” 

“ The etiquette of a vessel of war is rigid certainly, and 
Avisely so. But what you fancied rudeness, Avas in truth a 
compliment. Among us sailors, it is the inferior Avho goes 
first into a boat, and who quits it last.” 

“ So much, then, for forming a judgment ignorantly ! I 
believe it is always safer to have no opinion, than to form 
one without a perfect knoAvledge of all the accompanying 
circumstances.” 

“ Let us adhere to this safe rule through life, dearest, and 
we may find its benefits. An absolute confidence, caution 
in drawing conclusions, and a just reliance on each other, 
may keep us as happy to the end of our married life as Ave 
are at this blessed moment, when it is commencing under 
auspices so favorable as to seem almost providential.” 


THE END 


?S-' 




m. "■ 


. H- ?.«>■«» ‘i'- A 4 ”' 3 


V A %’'^, . . ff I.x . 

imifr SMHxP-'li^BKS.I .# j v.» ) ; 

'Wlif T tr .' , 7 ^ 3 f ': ,:*4 .Bitff 

k. J*T . . . . !<.& r. %t4!ll ^ # I 




^ ' 10. ' I ■• • '■ 

sx>^' ■ '■ ' y^Jtu'u .,‘i’i 

■* ' " ^ . ’ '* ^ ‘- ‘ 

.:• V ^ W .,: - :.- 

r-f : I -i •: - ;■ 




: \ ‘ 


111 ":'.: ■'■ 
MW: . ■■ 

'<f >1r."3k*(^'i.{> v.» <,^,1,, 


■• n .vv vViC'' ' V/’J 

; \.f V ■ V " 'i.: nLuiljS 





n ' ' '■ 




-.v- 

'^ '^Vf 4 «\i tiM 





H 233 83 ‘'^' 




r • - r ^ 4 


nf9 ' 


. • 



■V 


- ^ 


r’ 


4 

Ujh''-^ 



;'/ ' 'Is' Ui ' U'l* 


i ‘ lii;^ '■ '% 



f' 

i . i i %¥l /a - 


i' . ^itHjtJ** •f' » 

■ v;-^‘ jIBt"" ^ --i 
rV»ift*fiafWFV 4. 


■; 


>• T 

r 

A< 

# * 
▼.1* 


• I 






■ i# . ^ ^ 




• ‘-’rHf- 


, ► V'-‘ r*r 


'■ >> ' ‘ * '• v ' 

■• . 

/;'. :dit3(v ■ .H- - ■ r, 

l v .V. % _., 

M-: 







' . VjL'V.y Sl 'W *'<« 



■ <*► 


V'l'iV*' 1 it ^flBfly — ^ 



4 '^ A .t» ' , WV; 


• M 4 i' : 





i 


■TA£kk>'’ 



m 

I 



v' .-VL'* O 


C,^ i/v 






f • - * 

4 * 'V ^ V 


V v' • • V 

■ t •: 


♦ 4 > a 

* • 



^ '..T« 

’* 4 

* -v * 

; ^ v^ “ 

» * ^>- • '* kV '*^ * 

, ^o’> '^o^**^ 7 fr‘* .o'’ 

V a ••• 

'<r 







/ ^ •, 


\A ^ • 

• C.^'^ 

;» ^ ‘'••I* ^ ^ 

• .»*.. '*'c 4> ..... ^ 

^ \^D 4 i> A ^ 

<’ ^i 02 ^^* ’o.* a"* • 




• ^ 


• I 



' .‘I*.:?* 




•* ^v» 

^ V' **lJ(^* *> <5 

^ it» *V5 mR^* 

f \*'•^*\^^ xT > 

• ^ U^ • » 4 r‘?^ts. * ^ 

k £CiU/A'^ » ti*. A* « -tv\\Av-i^ _ r 

o K ; 

«• Ip v\ ^ 

* A ^ 







• • « 


» # ' 


: f 



o iP V* 


. % . 0 ' 

■* 

V V • 



♦ aV - 5 * . 


•^.t. ,0^ .-‘V*. ■*0, A' “ 



Sr • ^ — 

fO^ .•‘•j. 

4 ^ 4 ^. « . • A 

^ K 



<* *‘vvr* j/y ^ O *<77. • 7 


fc C-v *> ^ * 'fU4r^%* ^r 

' * ^ *'•!••• aO ♦ . . » • aV 3. 

V^ *1 !^% av 

♦ .J»WOTlu% V * » fit . • 







# ^ ^ c®"*# ^ 4 .V 

^ -d'' .-il* * 



'‘^■^o< .‘^ii^’- ■^ot^ r 

; jp-»“^^ V 



UUN 83^ 

N. MANCHESTER. 




